The youngest Italy team in 60 years face Belgium

All renaissances of Italian football have started with the rejuvenation of the national team. This was the case with Fulvio Bernardini and Enzo Bearzot during the 1970s when they created the team that would win the World Cup in 1982. Luciano Spalletti has continued the work of his predecessor Roberto Mancini by radically lowering the average age of the Italian national team. In the matches against Belgium and Israel, the players will have an average age of 24 and a half years. Since 1962, the Azzurri haven’t had such a young squad. For instance, the team that won the European Championship had an average age of nearly 29 years. In tonight's lineup, only Di Lorenzo is over 30, while the rest are younger than 27.

A good start in the Nations League, with wins over France and Israel after a disappointing European Championship performance, has reignited enthusiasm among the Azzurri. Italians believe they have a very competitive team in defense and midfield, with the only weak point being the attack. Luciano Spalletti can rely on an array of excellent goalkeepers led by Donnarumma, while the defensive line features a generation of outstanding central defenders, from Bastoni to Calafiori and Buongiorno. The midfield is arguably the backbone of Italy’s qualifications for the 2026 World Cup. Although their best midfielder, Barella, is injured, players like Tonali, Frattesi, Pellegrini, Fagioli, Ricci, and the young Pizzilli will step up. The competition is so strong that Lazio's midfielder Rovella was left out.

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Italy's attack has been a problem for some time. To be fair, Retegui has started scoring for Atalanta, with seven goals already in Serie A, but the Italo-Argentine is not at the level of Europe’s top strikers. Another reason for concern is Chiesa’s "disappearance" at Liverpool. He was the only winger with serious quality, as Raspadori, Orsolini, Politano, El Shaarawy, and Zaccagni (the last three were not called up for the matches against Belgium and Israel – the first due to poor form, the second because he’s not in Spalletti's plans, the third is injured, and Zaccagni requested to skip these two games) haven't stepped up as hoped.

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The attacking problems have prompted Spalletti to shift from a 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2 or 3-5-1-1. The new system worked excellently against France. This new setup has paved the way for an exciting football story, as tonight or against Israel, the third generation of the Maldini football dynasty could debut for the Azzurri. Daniel Maldini has already fulfilled his dream of playing for Milan’s first team after his grandfather Cesare and father Paolo, and now he's on the verge of achieving an even more unique goal: three generations of Maldinis playing for the national team, a record worthy of Guinness.

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Luciano Spalletti aims to secure a place in the Nations League quarterfinals in the next two matches against Belgium and Israel, allowing him to see in November how much he can expand the pool of players for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. For Italians, qualifying for the next World Cup has become a matter of life and death, given that they missed the last two tournaments. Adding to that, the Azzurri were eliminated in the group stage in South Africa and Brazil, meaning a whole generation of Italians has grown up without seeing their national team as a protagonist in the World Cup.

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Spalletti said yesterday that the 2026 World Cup must not become an obsession, but it's clear that qualifying is the top priority for him and his players. Belgium's coach, Domenico Tedesco, is also managing a generational shift with the Red Devils and will be without the last of Belgium’s golden generation, Lukaku, De Bruyne, and Courtois, in the Nations League. Big Rom and the Manchester City star have agreed to sit out the next two games, while Tedesco is in open conflict with his first-choice goalkeeper. Italy won both matches in September in the Nations League, but since taking charge, Luciano Spalletti has not managed to string together three consecutive wins. The Azzurri have been unbeaten in Rome for over 11 years (last losing to Argentina), with six wins and one draw since then.

On the other hand, Belgium lost to France and has gone two years without consecutive defeats under Domenico Tedesco. However, what particularly worries the Red Devils’ coaching staff is their inefficiency. In their last six matches, Belgium failed to score in four of them. The Olympic Stadium will not be full. Only a little over 40,000 tickets have been sold. The win over France boosted the Azzurri's morale, but it wasn’t enough to reignite the passion for the national team after a series of major disappointments.

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE A

Thursday

21:45: (12.0) Israel (6.50) France (1.22)

21:45: (2.00) Italy (3.40) Belgium (3.90)

Friday

21:45: (5.00) Hungary (4.10) Netherlands (1.65)

21:45: (10.5) B&H (6.75) Germany (1.28)