Imprecise Italy Leaves Scotland Friendly with Few Answers

On Sunday, Italy arrived in Malta for their first friendly match in their run-up to the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

The match against Scotland, played in the Maltese national stadium in Ta’ Qali, was also the only game for Antonio Conte to evaluate his 30-man provisional roster before Tuesday’s deadline for submitting his final squad.

That gave the game an importance far beyond its result. The Italians won 1-0 on a delicious curling strike by Graziano Pelle, but that was never Conte’s main concern going into the match. He needed to work out who would make his final cut, especially in his injury-depleted midfield.

Unfortunately, there was little progress made on that account, at least not overtly. Italy won—their first victory in a friendly since November 18, 2014, when they eked out a 1-0 win over Albania in Genoa—but their play was sloppy and provided few clear answers to the persistent questions dogging the Azzurri as they prepare to set off on their French adventure.

There were areas where certainty reigned. Gianluigi Buffon had little to do on Saturday. He barely raised his gloves in anger. Matt Ritchie’s shot off the side-netting in the 77th minute was Scotland’s first attempt all game, and they never managed a shot on target. Buffon could have brought a nice book with him onto the field and still done his job comfortably.

There was never any doubt the Juventus man would between the sticks for Italy, but the captain showed just how focused he is by clicking straight into gear whenever it was required of him.

Likewise, there wasn’t much that was a mystery about the team’s defense

For the first time in months, the Juventus trio of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini started at the back for Conte. They didn’t miss a beat from their dominant form for their club, not allowing a shot until there were only 13 minutes left in the game and keeping the Scottish from finding the target altogether.

Most of the time when you heard their names. it was when they were bombing forward to try to help the attack. They often got caught up in the disjointedness ahead of them, wasting the ball or over-running it. But they ensured that Italy was on the front foot for all but a few moments of the game. Bonucci also put his excellent passing skills on display, starting more than a few moves with well-placed balls.

It was farther upfield where the mysteries lay.

The midfield has been a source of concern for some time. Conte has been forced to plan for the tournament without his two best men at the position.

Juve’s Claudio …

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