Italy – Bosnia-Herzegovina: Džeko-Led Bosnia Steals A Point From An Unimaginative Italy (1-1)

Against Bosnia-Herzegovina’s low defensive block, Italy had to find a way to score without losing balance in the defensive transition phase. Italy’s head coach Roberto Mancini gave the keys of the offense to Lorenzo Insigne but saw his team unable to maximize the potential of the rest of the forwards. The tactical adjustments in the second half helped, but were not enough to give them the win.
Tactical analysis and match report by Thanos Chelas.

For the first match of the second version since establishing the UEFA Nations League, Roberto Mancini surprised many by choosing Stefano Sensi in his first eleven, as the Inter player had not started a match since a draw against Cagliari on the 26th of January. 

In this 4-1-4-1 defensive shape that turned into a 3-2-4-1 during the buildup phase, Sensi shared the midfield with Nicolò Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Francesco Acerbi and Leonardo Bonucci protected Gianluigi Donnarumma, supported by Alessandro Florenzi and Cristiano Biraghi. Up top, Andrea Belotti was supported by Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Insigne.

Dušan Bajević, in a 4-2-3-1 defensive formation that was evolving into a 4-3-3 in possession, protected his goalkeeper Ibrahim Šehić with a defensive line that included Branimir Cipetić, Toni Šunjić, Siniša Saničanin and Sead Kolašinac. In front of them sat Amir Hadžiahmetović and Gojko Cimirot who was responsible for following Insigne’s movements at first and later Barella’s runs. In the forwards’ positions, Edin Džeko was the focal point, being supported by Edin Višća, Armin Hodžić and Amer Gojak.

Two different ways to build up and . . .