🇮🇹 Italy: Gattuso makes his debut today, what can we expect? 👀 | OneFootball

The moment of truth has arrived: tonight Gennaro Gattuso's Italy will play its first match against Estonia, valid for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

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Gattuso will be on the bench for the first time as head coach, after taking over from Luciano Spalletti following the defeat against Norway last June.

What should we expect from his Italy and what challenges will he face?

Margin of error: zero

We know it: Italy can no longer afford to make mistakes.

The defeat against Norway has seriously compromised the chances of qualifying for the World Cup, and - to keep hopes alive of not experiencing a third consecutive World Cup without the Azzurri - no more missteps can be made.

With Norway going full throttle (4 wins), the only hope to avoid the playoffs is to hope for a slip-up from Haaland and company to play for the top spot in the group in the last match in November.

Otherwise, it will be the infernal cauldron of the playoffs, which historically have not been favorable to the Azzurri, and this year they will be even more complicated, given that out of the 16 teams playing the playoff round, only 4 will secure a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

Three-man defense or four-man defense?

But how will the Azzurri team change under Gattuso's orders? The first change compared to Spalletti's management seems destined to be a tactical one: shelving the three-man defense of the Tuscan coach, in favor of a return to a four-man defense.

Historically, Gattuso has preferred to play with a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 (he has not yet committed to which he will use for the national team, saying in a press conference that "numbers don't matter"), although during his experience at Marseille he also experimented with formations including a three-man defense, which, however, is not among those most congenial to him. He admitted it himself at the time: "It's not my football."

We can imagine that Dimarco and Di Lorenzo, two absolute pillars of the two teams that competed for the championship last year, will be the two starting full-backs, with Bastoni and Calafiori in the central position in front of the goalposts defended, of course, by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Untouchable midfield, in attack?

The midfielders seem to be undisputed, with Tonali and Barella competing for the two more advanced positions in the midfield triangle of a potential 4-3-3.

The only question mark in the midfield is perhaps the most defensive player, with Manuel Locatelli seemingly slightly favored over Rovella to secure a starting spot.

The uncertainties are rather about the forward trio that Gattuso will want to field, especially in light of the knee problems that forced Scamacca to leave Coverciano.

The only undisputed position should be on the left, with Zaccagni's consistent performances guaranteeing him the starting role. Therefore, there are ballots for the remaining positions, with Retegui trying to convince the coach that he deserves the spot more than Kean despite the transfer to Arabia.

And on the right? It will be interesting to see if Politano, with whom Gattuso worked during his season in Naples, will be a certainty the coach won't want to do without or if there will finally be more space for Orsolini in the Azzurri.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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