Arsenal
REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – JUNE 9: Andrea Cambiaso of Italy scores his group’s second aim throughout the FIFA 2026 Qualifier between Italy and Moldova at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on June 09, 2025 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photograph by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Pictures)
The excellent news is that this worldwide window is over. Italy will now have three months to look within the mirror and attempt to perceive what the heck is occurring with the Azzurri, as a brand new coach take the reins.
Tonight, they beat Moldova 2-0 on the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia of their second Qualifier recreation on the street to World Cup 2026, the final with Luciano Spalletti in cost – sure, solely in Italy can a supervisor sit within the dugout after the announcement that he was sacked has been made public. Pure calcio nonsense.
These hoping for a redeeming efficiency after final Friday’s unacceptable setback in Oslo – which costed Luciano Spalletti his job – have been left disillusioned. It was, frankly talking, a barely acceptable displaying on the Azzurri‘s half. Maybe, one thing lower than that.
Italy wanted to win and to attain as a lot as they might to scale back their aim distinction versus Norway. They took all three factors on provide and, in these difficult occasions for the Nazionale, maybe we must always simply be proud of that. As a lot as we needed to be optimistic, there have been only a few probabilities that an Italian facet whose confidence is shattered and bodily situation dreadful would put 4 or 5 objectives into Moldova’s web.
One would hope that the Azzurri would a minimum of put up a gritty, courageous efficiency, if solely to honor Spalletti’s final dance. No probability. The attention of the tiger was nowhere to be seen. The match on the Mapei Stadium licensed, as soon as extra, that Italy’s issues go method past Luciano Spalletti’s steering. The Azzurri seemed exhausted, apathetic, helpless.
They conceded a great deal of scoring probabilities to a Moldovan facet that, in reality, deserved to web a minimum of one. As soon as upon a time, the BBC. Italy’s unshakable protection. Tonight, the Azzurri‘s backline seemed careless and Gigio Donnarumma as soon as once more had some work to do to maintain the Nazionale afloat.
Ultimately, the evident hole in high quality – a number of the Moldovan gamers, like Messina defender Daniel Dumbravanu, play within the Italian Serie C – made a distinction, as Giacomo Raspadori opened the scoring for the Azzurri on 42 minutes and Andrea Cambiaso made it two a couple of minutes after the restart. However that every one got here after Moldova drew first blood, solely to see their opener disallowed by the VAR on grounds of offside.
The followers on the Mapei Stadium initially tried to encourage the Azzurri however their chants steadily died down. In the course of the second half, when it was by now clear that this was going to be one more forgettable efficiency for the Italians, silence had fallen on the stands of the Mapei. It was unreal.
Sufficient now. Time to restart with a brand new venture. Whoever goes to take the reins has a gargantuan activity forward, one the place he has way more to lose than to win. Good luck to him. We don’t envy him.
