Seeking back-to-back victories to cut the gap to Group C leaders England down to three points, Italy welcome already-eliminated Malta to the Stadio San Nicola in Bari on Saturday.
The Azzurri triumphed 2-1 over Ukraine in their most recent Euro 2024 qualifying encounter, while their cellar-dwelling visitors were comfortably put to the sword by North Macedonia in a 2-0 beating.
Since beginning the defence of their crown with a 2-1 loss to Gareth Southgate's vengeful troops, Spalletti's side have responded by taking seven points from the last nine on offer in Group C, although the Azzurri did not exactly assert their dominance in September.
A forgettable 1-1 draw away to North Macedonia preceded a narrow 2-1 triumph over the Ukrainians, who were hit by a Davide Frattesi brace before pulling one back through Andriy Yarmolenko, but Italy nevertheless clung on to move into second place in the tightly-packed section.
All of Italy, Ukraine and North Macedonia lie on seven points in the section - with the unbeaten England riding off into the sunset with 13 - but owing to their recent Nations League exertions, where they overcame the Netherlands in the third-placed playoff, Spalletti's men have a game in hand on all of the teams around them.
0 Comments