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UEFA Nations League: France vs Italy
Kickoff Time: 2024-09-07 02:45 (HKT)
Source: REUTERS/Susana Vera
France has recently announced the latest national team roster, led by Kylian Mbappe, with Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, and Marcus Thuram also included. Additionally, Michael Olise and Manu Kone have been called up to the French national team for the first time. France primarily plays in a 4-3-3 formation, excelling in counter-attacks. However, their counter-attacking strategy is built on the individual abilities of the players, utilizing ball control and rhythm management to achieve sudden and efficient counter-attacks. In Didier Deschamps’ tactics, each player is a crucial part of the system, with every run and pass aimed at maximizing the overall strategy.
Italy has also announced its latest national team roster, with the most notable highlights being the return of Sandro Tonali and the inclusion of Riccardo Calafiori. Italy primarily plays in a 3-5-2 formation but can switch to a 3-5-1-1 or 3-4-2-1 formation depending on the situation during matches. They even employ a four-defender setup with three players organizing the attack, although this tactical change has not been very effective. As a traditional powerhouse in European football, Italy’s performance in recent major tournaments has been disappointing. In the previous European Championship, Italy only managed to reach the Round of 16. With the retirement of several star players in recent years, the team’s performance has gradually declined, resulting in consecutive failures in multiple tournaments.
In terms of overall strength, France is undoubtedly superior to Italy. In their last three encounters, France has won all matches, demonstrating a clear advantage. The current Italian team is facing a talent drain, particularly lacking star power in their attacking line, making their offensive capabilities pale in comparison to France. Overall, the strong French team is expected to defeat Italy and secure a winning start in the UEFA Nations League.
France’s Last 5 Games: LDWDD
24-07-10 Spain 2-1 France
24-07-06 Portugal 0-0 France (PEN 3-5)
24-07-02 France 1-0 Belgium
24-06-26 France 1-1 Poland
24-06-22 Netherlands 0-0 France
Italy’s Last 5 Games: LDLWW
24-06-30 Switzerland 2-0 Italy
24-06-25 Croatia 1-1 Italy
24-06-21 Spain 1-0 Italy
24-06-16 Italy 2-1 Albania
24-06-10 Italy 1-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Head To Head Record:
18-06-02 France 3-1 Italy
16-09-22 Italy 1-3 France
12-11-15 Italy 1-2 France
08-06-18 France 0-2 Italy
07-09-09 Italy 0-0 France
Prediction: France to win