Luciano Spalletti praised debutant Nicolò Rovella after Italy conquered Belgium 1-0 away from home and looked back at the post-EURO 2024 criticism. ‘Italy can always find a strong squad.’
The Azzurri went into Brussels knowing they needed only one point from the last two games to be sure of qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals.
Nonetheless, the coach was always adamant he did not want an attitude settling for the minimum and that was evident as they dominated early on and took the lead through Sandro Tonali’s first goal in the Italy jersey.
There were some scares in the second half, most notably the Wout Faes header on a set play clipping the upright, but Italy kept their first clean sheet after conceding for eight games in a row.
Spalletti admires Italy performance
“The lads did well, because the pitch got really heavy in the second half, we lost a bit of sharpness when in possession and made a few too many misplaced passes,” Spalletti told RAI Sport.
“As we said before the game, in places like this, you have to keep the ball, that is essential to take the pressure off and control the game.
“When Belgium pinned us back into our own half it was tough, but they fought like lions.”
Lazio midfielder Nicolò Rovella was given his senior Italy debut and did it from the start with the keys to the midfield.
“He was wonderful. The attitude from everyone was excellent, as they showed they are a tough team,” added Spalletti.
Italy will complete the Nations League group by hosting France at San Siro on Sunday evening.
Les Bleus were surprisingly held to a 0-0 home draw by Israel this evening, so a point there will suffice for the Azzurri to top the group.
It was put to a rather irritated Spalletti that this was a very different situation to the one that he was dealing with after the dismal EURO 2024 showing.
“If we look back at the things that were said, Italy can always find 30 players to put together a strong squad, because we are Italy. It was just about finding the right solutions and putting them in a position to give their best, but they deserve a lot of credit for that too.”