A poignant rendition of Nessun Dorma set the scene for EURO 2020, evoking memories of fabled Italian teams past. But back in the here and now, the Azzurri made sure that they did not disappoint. Their 3-2-4-1 shape on the ball, along with a dogged rearguard, ground down the Turks, rolling back the years to […]

Roberto Mancini, tasked with rebuilding the Azzurri after their disastrous World Cup qualification failure, leads his men to challenge for the European crown. In contrast to the usual ways of an Italian side, they will look to harness the midfield and creative attacking talents at their disposal via a measured, possession-based approach. This may need […]

Unable to solve tactical questions posed by Italy on the left flank through Lorenzo Insigne and Leonardo Spinazzola, the Netherlands were the worst team for the full ninety minutes. Italy’s smart setup took the home side by surprise and, subsequently, the Netherlands didn’t manage to turn it around with some tactical manoeuvres.  Tactical analysis and […]

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 […]

Italy’s dominant possession share was not met by a dominant offensive performance, as has been the case for Mancini’s men’s in their latest outings. Greece, on the other hand, put up a diligent defensive performance but struggled to do anything notable on the ball. Tactical analysis and match report by Kareem Bianchi. Italy stood in […]

Italy’s possession game outplayed a conservative Portugal in the first half thanks to the efforts of the Jorginho-Verratti-Insigne triangle. In the second half, Portugal defended more aggressively to successfully stifle Italy’s attack. Tactical match report by José Perez. Roberto Mancini was handed the unenviable task of restoring Italy after their historic failure to quality for […]

Poland tested Italy’s build-up with an interesting starting formation, determined to block off access to the center. Italy soon found a way around this, upon which Poland responded with an efficient formation change. This evened out the game but wasn’t enough to prevent Italy from snatching victory with an injury time winner. With Portugal leading […]