After the ‘restart’ away against the World Cup runners-up, France, the national team will be looking for more validation against Israel tomorrow night in Budapest, on the neutral ground of the Bozsik Stadion (kick-off at 20:45 CEST, live on Rai 1 – with Slovakian referee Kruzliak).

Another victory would allow the Azzurri to take a significant step towards the Nations League Finals and secure a place among the top seeds for the draw of the next World Cup qualifiers. In the other Group 2 match, France and Belgium will inevitably take points off each other, giving Italy the chance to move to the top of the table alone and aim to pull ahead in October, when they will host Belgium and Israel in Rome and Udine over the course of four days.

This national team might lack an absolute superstar, like the flair and creativity of those number tens whom the coach invited to Coverciano before the Euros. However, it’s not short on talented players, as shown against Mbappé and his teammates. "A national team like Italy," Spalletti highlights, "will always have twenty players to make up a strong squad. These conditions will always be there, regardless of the period. Perhaps it’s about understanding the moments. For instance, at the moment we don’t have a true technical genius like Baggio, Del Piero, or Totti. But we have many players who can do a lot of things, who know how to adapt, playing with passion and sacrifice. These qualities can make a difference. We are becoming more willing to take on team responsibilities. On Friday, more than a team, we were brothers forming a team, and that is the key to overcoming any difficulty".

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS. The history with Israel favours the Azzurri, who have won four out of five encounters between 1961 and 2017, with one draw. Seven years ago, in Reggio Emilia, in the last match of the World Cup 2018 qualifiers, Ciro Immobile's goal proved decisive. On Friday, in their Nations League opener, the team coached by Ran Ben Shimon lost 3-1 to Belgium on neutral ground in Debrecen. Despite the defeat, the Israeli coach was nonetheless pleased with the performance.

“It will be a completely different match compared to the one against France,” Spalletti warns. “I think we’ll need to play in their half of the field, which means raising our defensive line and being cautious with our positioning to maintain balance, as there could be risks in open play. They will put twice as much effort into the game given the difficulties they’re facing".

The match against Israel comes just 72 hours after the clash with France. Some changes in the lineup are inevitable, especially with Riccardo Calafiori forced to leave the squad due to a calf injury sustained in the second half against the French. Pellegrini is also not at 100% and might be sidelined: “We’ll assess him tomorrow, but I think it would be unwise to start him”. Bastoni will be available and Frattesi, who was struggling on Friday, will try to push through. With 14 appearances, the Inter midfielder is the most used player under Spalletti: “We’ll need to assess him in today’s training, but he says he’s feeling fine. It’s difficult to replicate the exact starting lineup from the France game, as it’s impossible to recover fully in such a short time. There might be three, four, or even five changes".

RICCI'S IMPACT.  One of the standout performers on Friday at the Parc des Princes, Samuele Ricci is the epitome of the modern midfielder. Versatile, he can play equally well as a deep-lying playmaker or an advanced midfielder. With both technique and stamina, despite being only in his third appearance for the national team, he looked like a seasoned pro against France: “I didn’t expect such a breakthrough” admitted the Torino midfielder in the press conference. “But I had a lot of faith in the work we did during the week at Coverciano. We’ve formed a very united group, and we brought that unity to the pitch. Most of us play in Serie A and know each other well, and I believe this can make a difference. There are many strong players here.” Among them is Sandro Tonali, with whom Ricci has shown great synergy in midfield: “He’s always been strong, one of the most complete midfielders in the global scene. Playing alongside him in midfield makes everything easier for us".

After completing the pre-European camp, he was one of the three Azzurri 'dropped' by Spalletti four days before the departure for Germany. However, the missed call-up gave him new motivation, and he was quick to seize the first opportunity. Now he knows that he must keep his foot on the accelerator: "The spirit is right, I’m convinced that against Israel we will play as we did against France. We are expecting a tough match; after such a victory, we must not relax or underestimate this game".