Despite everything. Italy has decided to retain Luciano Speletti as head coach

Yesterday, the first major upset in the Euro 2024 playoffs occurred when Italy lost to Switzerland 0-2 in the Round of 16. The Azzurri were outplayed not only in the scoreline but also in overall performance.

At the post-match press conference, Italy's head coach, Luciano Spalletti, shared his thoughts on his team's defeat, causing discontent among fans. Spalletti claimed that Inter Milan players, who had won Serie A early, were to blame as they became complacent.

"Inter won Serie A, and I realized that it is a very serious club. Simone Inzaghi continued to train the team in a certain way.

I was aware of how often Inter's players trained, and perhaps they relaxed after winning the championship early," Sport Bible quoted him as saying.

It is worth noting that Italy's starting lineup included three Inter players, with another coming on as a substitute.

Spalletti further attributed the loss to player injuries and his need to better understand the team.

"I need to get to know my team a little better.

We also had several injured players, players I was counting on, and you saw that in terms of intensity, we were below average.

The future of the Italian national team depends on various factors. We need more physical strength. When you think you can play with quality but cannot maintain that intensity for 90 minutes, you need to try to change something."

Despite the reigning European champions' failure, the Italian Football Federation has decided to keep Spalletti as the head coach and give him the opportunity to lead the team in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. This was reported by Fabrizio Romano.

Luciano Spalletti took over as Italy's head coach in August last year, with his contract running until 2026. He faced criticism from his first match in charge of the Azzurri when the team drew 1-1 with North Macedonia in the Euro qualifiers.