During the UEFA EURO 2024 European qualifier match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on October 17, 2023 in London, England, Head Coach Luciano Spalletti of Italy was seen in action.
Following a 3-1 defeat to England in Group C, Italy coach Luciano Spalletti emphasized the need for his team to glean important lessons from their performance. The loss left the defending champions striving to secure qualification for Euro 2024.
Italy’s fate will be decided next month when they play North Macedonia and then Ukraine, currently second in the group, in their last two games.
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Coming back to the venue of their Euro 2020 victory, Italy initially gained the upper hand with Gianluca Scamacca's inaugural international goal. However, they were ultimately outmatched as England managed to exact a measure of retribution for their loss in the final of the previous tournament.
“I don’t think the team deserved to lose by two goals,” said Spalletti who took over as coach in September after Roberto Mancini quit.
“We need to grow and develop in those big match-winning moments,” he said of a team that has lost a number of veterans from the title-winning side of 2021.
“We played well for the majority of the game but we need to take our chances,” added the former Napoli coach.
He was also unhappy with the way Italy conceded the goals – two scored by Harry Kane and one by Marcus Rashford.
In the second half, Rashford capitalized on Italy's vulnerability after a swift counterattack, while Kane, who had previously converted a penalty, latched onto a routine long ball to break free and secure the third goal.
“We have the quality to compete against everyone,” Spalletti said, admitting that the pace and physicality of the English players had proved a tough challenge.
