Italy’s tactical revolution was sparked by Luciano Spalletti, who surprised everyone by switching to a three-man defense in their match against Croatia. This was not entirely unexpected, as Italy had used this formation in warm-up matches leading up to EURO 2024 and had won all of them. The match kicked off in Leipzig at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT) and fans could follow the action on the LIVEBLOG.
Spalletti had originally been expected to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation used in the first two games of the tournament, but instead made a total transformation to a 3-5-2 formation. This change saw Giacomo Raspadori and Mateo Retegui leading the attack, with Federico Dimarco and Giovanni Di Lorenzo in more advanced roles. Federico Chiesa was left on the bench for this game.
Italy had been leaning towards a three-man defense in their recent matches, having used a 3-4-2-1 formation in friendly matches against Venezuela and Ecuador, as well as in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Spalletti had only taken charge of the Italy squad in September 2023 and had inherited the 4-3-3 formation commonly used by his predecessor Roberto Mancini before he resigned.
The change in tactics by Italy reflected a trend seen in Serie A, where many teams were opting to play with three at the back. Teams like Inter and Atalanta, who had won the Serie A and Europa League titles respectively, were among those deploying this formation. Spalletti’s bold move to switch to a three-man defense showed his willingness to adapt and innovate as Italy progressed in the tournament.