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Italy have progressed with minimal effort, but they’ll need to do better against Bosnia

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Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy
Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Azzurri have reached the World Cup decider, but their performance against Northern Ireland won’t be enough in Zenica.

The first hurdle has been cleared, but – as we knew from the outset – the real test will come next. Partly because Bosnia are clearly a cut above Northern Ireland, but above all because this national team will be missing the support that the Bergamo crowd provided in abundance.


Northern Ireland, despite the inevitable fears stemming from the Macedonia debacle, proved to be rather lacklustre: an Italy side that was far from irresistible comfortably saw off opponents of a far lower calibre.


Against Bosnia, it will be a different story: we know Kolasinac, Dzeko and Muharemovic well, but they are not the only ones to watch out for. After all, Barbarez’s side managed to emerge unscathed from a match against a Wales side that was certainly better fancied and considered by many to be the favourites going into the game, and they will certainly give their all to realise their World Cup dream.

  • And what about Italy? Against Northern Ireland, the Azzurri achieved maximum points with minimum effort, but that certainly won’t be enough in Zenica. They’ll need to do better and, beyond individual performances, Gattuso’s side must improve in terms of intensity, which was particularly lacking in the first half.

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  • Moving the ball more quickly, playing more vertical passes and avoiding taking too many risks in defence: these are the first three things Gattuso’s team will need to focus on in Bosnia. The risks that Donnarumma, Barella and Bastoni took whilst building play from the back must be avoided at all costs, because in a do-or-die match every ball counts three times as much and there is often not enough time to recover.

  • Focus and effectiveness, then, are the key to achieving a goal that has eluded us for far too long, but which is now just one step away from being realised.

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