As in 2021, La Roja and Squadra Azzurra find themselves in the semi-finals of the Nations League for an undecided clash between two selections in need of consistency but with revenge. Follow with us from the kick-off the match between Spain and Italy.
It’s a competition that looks like a catch-up session. A way to forget the mistakes of the past and to plan ahead. “Not qualifying for the World Cup was probably our fault. Now there is the Nations League, and we want to win it,” Francesco Acerbi told the press from the start. A clear message that sets the tone for what will be played in Twente against Spain in the semi-finals of the League of Nations.
Frustrated at having missed the call for the World Cup last November, Italy has revenge to take and in more ways than one, starting with Spain. This shock is intended to be the remake of the one which took place at the same stage of the event in 2021. A match lost in large widths by an Italy which had difficulty digesting its European coronation. Two years later, despite the setbacks, Roberto Mancini is still at the helm of the Azzurri ship. If he still relies on the victorious framework at Wembley in 2020 (Donnarumma, Verratti, Jorginho, etc.), the technician has been able to integrate young players like Giacomo Raspadori. At 23, the Napoli striker has settled into the forefront of the Italian attack and remains on a good dynamic in the selection where he has scored two goals in his last two matches. Facing La Roja, he will benefit from the full confidence of his coach to lead the Italian attack and create danger. “All the matches he has played in the Champions League with Napoli have helped him. Giacomo has qualities and he is still very young, so you shouldn’t put too much pressure on him. You have to let him grow. He will commit maybe mistakes, but it’s the only way to improve”, protects Roberto Mancini, who nevertheless knows that after such a season, his player will be keen to finish in style.
He will not be the only one motivated. The whole Italian group hopes to put an end to this dark spring which will have seen local football lose in the final of the three European cups (Fiorentina in C4, AS Roma in C3 and Inter Milan in C1). The five Interistes summoned for this gathering (Acerbi, Darmian, Dimarco, Barella and Bastoni), joined the group at the start of the week, still groggy from the setback conceded against Manchester City. Like the experienced defender Acerbi (35), they will be able to find the extra motivation and train their teammates. A mentality that will not be too much against an opponent who no longer succeeds in the Italians. “By the game they offer and their style, Spain are probably the worst possible opponent. We have always suffered against them. We will try to find solutions to limit their strengths and exploit our qualities”, said in January at the time of the draw Alberico Evani, assistant to Mancini. An opinion that has not changed. “Spain has not changed and it will be difficult, as always,” said Roberto Mancini.
A Spain, also revengeful after having spoiled its World Cup which started with a bang and finished in the round of 16 against Morocco. This setback has still not been digested and only a final victory in the League of Nations can console her. “When you have the chance to play a game against Italy at any stage of a competition, whether it’s a semi-final or a final, it’s exciting. Italy will certainly try to make up for their absence from the World Cup, it will be very important for them (…) We are looking forward to doing something important. You will see two teams that are determined and hungry for victory. I would like my players show that,” said Luis De la Fuente.
The new coach of La Roja wants to start a new cycle for his selection and knows his position as exciting as it is precarious, he the former boss of the Espoirs to whom nothing will be granted in the event of poor performance, especially after the defeat in Scotland in last March (0-2). A pressure to which he adapts.
Olympic vice-champion in 2021, he knows his players perfectly, whom he has rubbed shoulders with and led for many in the youth categories. It is on this hard core which has already taken power during the Qatari World Cup that the sixty-year-old wants to rely on. “I am a continuation of what we have been doing for ten years. I like the idea of ??playing combination football, controlling the game and finding spaces with our passing games, which defines the Spanish style. But I also like to create depth and breadth, and run in the spaces,” he says. An ability to project oneself which has been sorely lacking in his family lately and which will be decisive when crossing Italy.
If Pedri is missing, he can count in particular on the enthusiasm of Rodri, the only scorer in the last Champions League final, and the desire for newcomers like the naturalized Frenchman Le Normand, expected in central defense at alongside another Laporte expatriate. “I know it will be difficult, but we are ready to go all the way,” said De la Fuente. It’s up to them to prove that they want this final more, where Croatia who fell the Netherlands (4-2 a.p.) await them than their Italian rivals, in this duel of revenge.
The Nations League semi-final between Spain and Italy will start around 8:45 p.m. at the Twente Stadion in Enschede, the Netherlands.
The opposition between Luis de la Fuente’s Spain and Italy, still led by Roberto Mancini, will be followed live and unencrypted from 8:45 p.m. on La Chaîne L’Equipe.
The poster for the Nations League semi-final between La Roja and Squadra Azzurra will be available for streaming on the lequipe.fr website.
Betclic: Spain: 2.25 / Draw: 3.25 / Italy: 3.35
Sports bets: Spain: 2.30 / Draw: 3.20 / Italy: 3.25
Winamax: Spain: 2.25 / Draw: 3.20 / Italy: 3.35
Spain: Unai Simon – Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Alba – Rodri, Zubimendi – Gavi, Asensio, Olmo – Morata.
Italy: Donnarumma – Di Lorenzo, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dimarco – Jorginho, Verratti, Barella – Chiesa, Retegui, Pellegrini.
