Spalletti: "I wanted to bring in younger players, and the result met my expectations."

In the second round of the UEFA Nations League A, Italy secured a 2-1 away victory over Israel. After winning both of their opening matches, Luciano Spalletti attended the post-match press conference.

In this match, Italy relied on goals from Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean in the first and second halves, respectively, to claim a 2-1 win away against Israel. With two wins from two games in Group B of the UEFA Nations League A, Italy now tops the group with 6 points, ahead of France and Belgium, who both have one win and one loss.

"Even though our team is very young, we still played with a lot of maturity. With Israel packing the defense in their half, the game became more closed off. Matches like this are never easy. We had to maintain a balance between attack and defense because Israel is known for their counterattacks. They have both speed and quality. We did well and didn’t encounter too much trouble defensively. Despite the game not always going our way, we didn’t get nervous, and we eventually created many chances. I have to emphasize the maturity of these young players; our average age in the first half was really low," Spalletti said.

Is Frattesi your hidden forward? Should Moise Kean be used more?

"Even though Frattesi may not be very noticeable in organizing attacks, he does a lot of important work. He always helps the team maintain an advantage, and he has the ability to break into the penalty area and always finds himself in the right place. He is a very important player for us. As for Moise Kean, yes, we haven’t used him enough. With so many midfielders, we should have given him more direct passes so he could showcase his speed. However, the game changed a lot in the second half, and I think we performed very well. Israel had to come forward, and we used our advantage in their half. Our mature performance won us the game, which is an important signal for our team."

What will you take back to Italy after two away games in eight days?

"The takeaways will all be very positive. The players we called up this time were carefully selected. I spent the entire summer thinking about this. I wanted to make the team younger, and the result has met my expectations. I made some adjustments, and the team showed the qualities I was looking for. We played two excellent matches. Going forward, we just need to reinforce our initial ideas and be cautious, because aside from the two or three players who weren’t included this time but were part of our squad before, there might be others joining as well."

What do you think are Israel's standout qualities?

"The speed and quickness of their attacking players, along with their technical ability. From the start, they wanted to play to their strengths, and they also tried to build from the back. I think they are a good national team, heading in the right direction."

How do you plan to position Federico Chiesa within the 3-5-2 system in October’s international break?

"I envision him as a second forward but with more freedom to operate on the wing. This 3-5-2 formation can sometimes be one forward in the middle and the other on the wing. We don’t necessarily have to play with two center forwards."

In what areas can and must this Italy team improve?

"Tonight’s game highlighted the need for us to perform better in tight spaces. We need more quality but cannot lose our defensive balance like we did in these two games. Our three-man defense system is working well at the moment, but it’s clear that our performance depends greatly on the players we have on the field."