Luciano Spalletti Blasts Self-Destructive Italy After Belgium Stalemate

Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti addressed the media following a stomach-wrenching 2-2 home draw against Belgium. Gli Azzurri threw away a two-goal cushion to drop points for the first time in the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League cycle.

Goals from Andrea Cambiaso and Mateo Retegui fired Italy 2-0 up inside the opening 25 minutes. However, Pellegrini’s expulsion toward the end of the first half turned the game on its head. Spalletti’s team conceded twice from set-piece plays as Maxim De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard rescued a point for Belgium.

After the match, Spalletti hailed the team’s mentality as Italy fared well against De Rode Duivels despite playing with ten men for almost an hour.

“We saw the quality of the team and we saw the feeling good on the pitch. We had to confirm and show, even in this match, that we could direct the game,” the Italy boss stated, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio.

However, conceding from set pieces has been a rarity for Italy. Spalletti maintains the Belgians were lucky but blasts his players for poor giveaways in their opening third.

“I would focus on how we lost some balls. They have quality in open spaces. We never conceded many goal balls in front of Donnarumma, but we suffered on set pieces. They were also a bit lucky,” the former Napoli manager added.

Last night’s draw knocked Italy down from a perfect start to their Group A2 journey. They’ll have a chance to make things right on Monday when they encounter Israel at Udinese’s Bluenergy Stadium.