Rome, Sept. 19 (BUS): Still in shock at failing to qualify for the World Cup finals again, Italy faces another pressing problem: where to score?
Italy on its way to winning the European Championship last year was praised for its free attack, according to the Associated Press.
Roberto Mancini has transformed Italy from the ruthless side that missed the 2018 World Cup into one that netted the opponents with a world record of 37 unbeaten matches, scoring four, five, six, seven and even nine goals at different times.
However, this offensive-minded juggernaut no longer existed. Italy’s World Cup qualifying campaign was doomed in part for their lack of “cattiveria” – literally “evil” – in front of goal because the epidemic of missed opportunities is costing them dearly. Even before her stunning loss to North Macedonia in the qualifiers.
Mancini has pinpointed the problem. Only one of the top 13 goalscorers in Serie A this season.
This is Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, who has always struggled to replicate his club’s form with the national team.
“It’s an anomaly because Italy have always had great strikers,” Mancini said on Monday. “Unfortunately, it’s been a while now that the big teams here have a lot of foreign strikers. The only one we’ve had there for a while is immobile.
This is Lazio striker Ciro Immobile, who has always struggled to replicate his club’s form with the national team.
“It’s an anomaly because Italy have always had great strikers,” Mancini said on Monday. “Unfortunately, it’s been a while now that the big teams here have a lot of foreign strikers. The only one we’ve had there for a while is immobile.
“This creates some difficulty, it is not a small problem. We hope it will not be an irreversible match and two or three strikers will appear who can strengthen the national team.”
Mancini has selected eight strikers in the squad for the last two Nations League matches against England and Hungary.
Apart from Immobile, Mancini called up Lazio teammate Matteo Cancelleri, Napoli trio Matteo Politano, Giacomo Rasbadori, Alessio Zerbin, West Ham player Gianluca Scamaca, Wilfried Gonto Leeds and Freiburg striker Vincenzo Grifo.
Immobile has scored five times this season. The other seven strikers had six attackers, four of whom did not go far from the mark.
Italy hosts England in Milan on Friday and plays Hungary in Budapest three days later. The Azzurri are third in a group that also includes Germany in the league.
They only collected five points from their first four matches. They have five goals and conceded seven. The Italians can still top their group and qualify for the Final Four for the second consecutive edition, but they are also struggling to avoid last place and relegation to Serie B.
Mancini has selected eight strikers in the squad for the last two Nations League matches against England and Hungary.
Apart from Immobile, Mancini called up Lazio teammate Matteo Cancelleri, Napoli trio Matteo Politano, Giacomo Rasbadori, Alessio Zerbin, West Ham player Gianluca Scamaca, Wilfried Gonto Leeds and Freiburg striker Vincenzo Grifo.
Immobile has scored five times this season. The other seven strikers had six attackers, four of whom did not go far from the mark.
Italy hosts England in Milan on Friday and plays Hungary in Budapest three days later. The Azzurri are third in a group that also includes Germany in the league.
They only collected five points from their first four matches. They have five goals and conceded seven. The Italians can still top their group and qualify for the Final Four for the second consecutive edition, but they are also struggling to avoid last place and relegation to Serie B.
Mancini confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti was absent after a calf injury in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Lyon.
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