Spain, Croatia and Albania will be the opponents of the Italian national team in the next European football championships which will be played in Germany in 2024.
The names of the 24 teams participating in the tournament were entered in the Hamburg ballot box (actually 21 plus 3 others who will be decided by the play-offs scheduled for March) and Spalletti's Azzurri, who will be part of group B, were placed in fourth band, the last, despite Italy being the reigning champion team. And the verdict of the draw proved to be harsh, as was feared on the eve of the match.
Here is the composition of the groups:
- Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland
- Group B: Spain, Croatia, Albania, Italy
- Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England
- Group D: Netherlands, Austria, France + winner of play-off A
- Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania + winner of play-off B
- Group F: Türkiye, Portugal, Czech Republic + winner of play-off C
Spalletti - «It could have gone better: it's a tough group, but we have to face this European Championship with the awareness of being Italy. Much will depend on how we get to June, on our mental and physical condition", commented coach Spalletti after the draw. «We will have to defend at certain moments, but the idea is always to propose attacking football: and for Vialli to protect us», concluded the Italian coach.
(Unioneonline/lf)
