Scamacca, Calafiori replacement, penalties, Switzerland-Italy tactics: Spalletti spills | OneFootball

Unlike the Croatia game, Luciano Spalletti outlines his Italy plans against Switzerland, including who replaces Riccardo Calafiori and why there is a ‘doubt’ on Gianluca Scamacca.

The EURO 2024 Round of 16 tie kicks off at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT).

So far in the tournament, the Azzurri have stuttered with a 2-1 win over Albania, 1-0 defeat to Spain and last-gasp 1-1 draw with Croatia.

Spalletti surprised with his picks in that final group game, moving to a three-man defence and transforming the starting XI, having given very little warning in training.

He is taking a different approach this time, telling reporters in his press conference and interviews many of the details.

Federico Dimarco is injured and Calafiori suspended, so there will be at least two changes from the side that drew with Croatia.

Alessandro Bastoni has flu symptoms, but did do some training today and is expected to start, while Spalletti confirmed Roma defender Gianluca Mancini will step in for Calafiori.

“Mancini has the right experience and in this case I prefer to have a right-footed player on the right side of central defence and a left-footed player on the left.”

Spalletti explains Scamacca doubt

The coach also said his “only doubt” for the starting XI was the striker, choosing between Atalanta’s Scamacca and Genoa forward Mateo Retegui.

“Scamacca can score a goal at any moment, he has that quality and creativity, those moments of magic. Where he struggles more is being linked in with the whole team.

“I had joking around called him lazy and it got talked about in the media, but in order to show his quality consistently, he needs to be always connected to the team and he has difficulty doing that.

“When you look at the statistics, he covers the ground, he makes the runs, it’s about being in the right position to receive the ball and he doesn’t always do that.”

Scamacca had also struggled with Atalanta when initially making the move from West Ham United, but something clicked in March and he became unstoppable. Could the same happen for Italy?

“I’ve rarely coached a player with such a powerful strike. He is the only doubt I have tomorrow on the starting XI, but both Scamacca and Retegui will contribute, it’s just about who does it from the start and who comes in later.”

Juventus midfielder Nicolò Fagioli is widely expected to start in midfield and again Spalletti is not hiding that idea, confirming all it requires is the “courage” to give him space.

Benching Jorginho has psychological aspects too, because the reason Italy did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup was because he failed to convert a penalty in each of the two draws against Switzerland.

As this is a knockout round, inevitably Spalletti was also asked who is going to step up if there are penalties.

“The penalty taker is whoever can handle the emotional pressure at that moment. We got everyone to practice them in training, but it’s really not ideal if we’re already thinking about it. They all went in during training, but in a game between ranks already you see something change.

“We will do everything we can to win the match, knowing we have a tough opponent in front of us.”