THEY are reigning champs and have a habit of defying the odds - yet little is expected of this current Azzurri side. At least they qualified, given a nasty recent habit of missing major tournaments. But even that was not exactly comfortable as they finished narrowly above Ukraine and well below table-toppers England .
Veteran boss Luciano Spalletti, 65, will have to use all his experience given the lack of quality at his disposal. Up front, in particular, is an issue with former West Ham flop Gianluca Scamacca likely to start No 9. Sandro Tonali ’s betting suspension hampers them in midfield.
They won it last time but the view back on the Boot is if they make it out of the group, they will have done just fine. The veteran tactician won't stand for any nonsense. Spalletti has already clamped down on the time his squad spends on the PlayStation.
But the 65-year-old is no dinosaur tactically and his teams are not to be taken lightly. The only genuine superstar in the squad has had an up-and-down year at Paris Saint-Germain . But the big man remains elite - as England know only too well from the last final.
Italy have a solid back three in front of Donnarumma, with width coming from their wing-backs. Jorginho and Nicolo Barella will be tasked with controlling the centre of the park and getting the ball to Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Scamacca and Napoli striker Giacomo Raspadori are two options up front.
The former is a physical threat while Raspadori is two-footed a.