Page 55 - Soccer360 Issue 105

RIGHT:
Roberto Mancini left his role as Italy coach in August 2023
BOTTOM LEFT:
There are high hopes for Davide Frattesi
BOTTOM:
Poland must improve if they are to make it through the Euro 2024 play-offs
LAST STAND
The play-offs for Euro 2024 take place in March with the final three places in the finals up for grabs. Ciro Di Brita looks ahead to the fixtures in paths A, B, and C.
Path A of the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs sees Wales welcome Finland
to Cardiff and Estonia travel to Warsaw to take on Poland in the semi-finals. The winners of both ties will then meet for a place in a fearsome looking Group D. Wales, who have reached three of the past four major tournaments and made
it to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, are marginal favourites in this section. They came third behind Turkey and Croatia
in their qualifying group, and will be looking for someone new to inspire them to another summer showpiece after the retirement of talisman Gareth Bale. Qualifying for the play-offs via the Nations League, Estonia are the rank outsiders while Poland have had a poor couple of years which included drawing and losing to Moldova in qualifying. Despite having Robert Lewandowski
and Piotr Zielinski to call upon, a vast improvement is needed to be in with a chance of making it through.
Due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza,
the encounter is Path B between Israel and Iceland will take place in Budapest, with the winner facing either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine in the decider for the right to enter Group E at the Euros. It looks like it’ll be close, but the Ukrainians are arguably the more fancied nation in this path and beat Bosnia 2-0 in Zenica during qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Meanwhile, in Path C Georgia and
Greece appear to be the favoured sides to reach the final. The Georgians can boast of the exciting talent that is Kvicha Kvaratskhelia although the winger’s second season at Napoli hasn’t been as electrifying as last term.
On the other hand, Greece have been playing some high-paced and thrilling football under ex-Chelsea midfielder Gustavo Poyet. The Greeks were unlucky to lose to France and the Netherlands who needed late penalties to win in Paris and Athens by a one-goal margin.
Then again, you cannot rule out either Kazakhstan or Luxembourg, two nations long seen as minnows but now looking seriously competitive. The winner of
this section will go into Group F at Euro 2024.
middle of the park. In principle, playing with Raspadori as a pseudo false-nine could free up space for Davide Frattesi and Nicolo Barella, who are both adept at making surging runs into the opposition’s half to provide a goalscoring threat against sides that will be more open at the back.
Against Spain, those late runs could be vital. The Spanish under Luis de la Fuente will
line up in their version of a 4-3-3 that will naturally look to keep possession of the ball and pick away at the Italian defence. Finding that space in behind the Spanish defence will be the key to Italy getting a positive result.
The squad has several other question
marks surrounding the selection of centre backs, Francesco Acerbi will be 36 by the time the summer comes around and it remains to be seen if Spalletti believes the Inter man will be a starter, having acted
as an understudy to Leonardo Bonucci
and the now retired Giorgio Chiellini for much of his international career. His club teammate Alessandro Bastoni will travel, along with Giorgio Scalvini, while Torino’s Alessandro Buongiorno impressed against the Ukrainians and could be given the opportunity to start in Germany despite his relative inexperience.
Spalletti knows he has a tough rebuild job on his hands and will have to blood a new crop of players over the next couple of years with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, so he could place faith in the likes of Buongiorno. Elsewhere, Frattesi is another one to watch after starring during qualifying with three goals from midfield. Currently on loan at Inter from Sassuolo, there are high hopes for Frattesi and he has the kind of progressive mindset that Spalletti often favours. Athletic
“DAVIDE FRATTESI MAY
JUST EMERGE AS ONE
OF THE TOURNAMENT’S
BREAKOUT STARS”
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