Euro 2024: Italy, unfancied after World Cup, look for repeat of 2021 Wembley triumph
- Holders dipped after winning last tournament, failing to reach Qatar, but Luciano Spalletti, who led Napoli to Serie A title, is now at helm
Defending champions Italy come into Euro 2024 without the weight of the favourites tag hanging over them but in major tournaments they can never be written off, if they can progress from a challenging group.
Italy went into Euro 2020 having failed to qualify for the previous World Cup, and they come into this year’s tournament in the same situation, but under Luciano Spalletti they are ready to put the past behind them in a bid to repeat the glory days.
Unlike last time when they strolled through their qualification group for Euro 2020 with 10 wins out of 10, this time around their participation was at risk until the final game.
The Italians defeated England on penalties to win the last Euros but when they came up against the same opponents in qualifying the Italians lost both meetings, and a 0-0 draw with Ukraine meant they scraped through and avoided the playoffs.
Italy’s struggles in qualification placed them as bottom seeds in the draw, and they ended up in probably the toughest group, alongside Spain, Croatia and Albania in Group B.
Spalletti, who led Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990 last season, took over as manager when Roberto Mancini resigned in August last year.
