Italy's national team is gearing up for a pivotal encounter against Croatia in the final group stage match of Euro 2024, scheduled to take place in Leipzig on Monday. Head coach Luciano Spalletti has committed to making significant changes in the lineup to enhance the team's performance and secure their advancement in the tournament.
Currently positioned second in Group B, Italy has accumulated three points from two games. The Azzurri bounced back with a 2-1 victory against Albania but faced a narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain. Despite the loss, the scoreline doesn't fully capture the extent to which Spain dominated the field.
Concerns have been raised regarding Spalletti's coaching decisions, particularly his choice to use the same starting lineup in both matches. Reflecting on the recent defeat, Spalletti acknowledged, \"Of course after a game like that, there is the notion and the idea to change the team a little bit.\" He admitted, \"I probably made mistakes in not mixing things up quicker in terms of the performance we produced, but I thought it would be a gamble to tweak anything because we saw everything that had been said in recent times.\"
The loss to Spain has prompted Spalletti to take action, emphasizing the need to address signs of fatigue and inconsistent results. Ahead of the Croatia clash, he stated, \"Now that we have noticed that there is a bit of fatigue and rust in terms of results, we certainly will change things.\"
Croatia, currently fourth in the group with one point from two matches, remain in contention to advance to the knockout stage. A victory over Italy combined with an Albanian win against Spain would see Italy exit the tournament.
Spalletti underscored the importance of the upcoming match, saying, \"There are certain matches which ultimately dictate whether it's been a great tale or a tale to forget, so the glory of your tale comes down to matches such as this.\" He emphasized the need for action over words, adding, \"Talk is cheap, you've got to go out there and walk the walk. We said things we weren't able to exhibit against Spain, we need to walk the walk and leave talk to one side.\"
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Italy will make changes to advance at Euro 2024, coach Spalletti says
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