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REGGIO NELL’EMILIA, ITALY – JUNE 9: Andrea Cambiaso of Italy scores his team’s second goal during the FIFA 2026 Qualifier between Italy and Moldova at Mapei Stadium – Citta’ del Tricolore on June 09, 2025 in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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The good news is that this international window is over. Italy will now have three months to look in the mirror and try to understand what the heck is going on with the Azzurri<\/em>, as a new coach take the reins.<\/p>\n Tonight, they beat Moldova 2-0 at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia in their second Qualifier game on the road to World Cup 2026, the last with Luciano Spalletti in charge \u2013 yes, only in Italy can a manager sit in the dugout after<\/em> the announcement that he was sacked has been made public. Pure calcio<\/em> nonsense.<\/p>\n Those hoping for a redeeming performance after last Friday\u2019s unacceptable setback in Oslo \u2013 which costed Luciano Spalletti his job \u2013 were left disappointed. It was, frankly speaking, a barely acceptable showing on the Azzurri<\/em>\u2018s part. Perhaps, something less than that.<\/p>\n Italy needed to win and to score as much as they could to reduce their goal difference versus Norway. They took all three points on offer and, in these challenging times for the Nazionale<\/em>, perhaps we should just be happy with that. As much as we wanted to be optimistic, there were very few chances that an Italian side whose confidence is shattered and physical condition dreadful would put four or five goals into Moldova\u2019s net.<\/p>\n One would hope that the Azzurri<\/em> would at least put up a gritty, brave performance, if only to honor Spalletti\u2019s last dance. No chance. The eye of the tiger was nowhere to be seen. The match at the Mapei Stadium certified, once more, that Italy\u2019s problems go way beyond Luciano Spalletti\u2019s guidance. The Azzurri<\/em> looked exhausted, apathetic, helpless.<\/p>\n They conceded loads of scoring chances to a Moldovan side that, if truth be told, deserved to net at least one. Once upon a time, the BBC. Italy\u2019s unshakable defense. Tonight, the Azzurri<\/em>\u2018s backline looked careless and Gigio Donnarumma once again had some work to do to keep the Nazionale afloat.<\/p>\n In the end, the evident gap in quality \u2013 some of the Moldovan players, like Messina defender Daniel Dumbravanu, play in the Italian Serie C \u2013 made a difference, as Giacomo Raspadori opened the scoring for the Azzurri<\/em> on 42 minutes and Andrea Cambiaso made it two a few minutes after the restart. But that all came after Moldova drew first blood, only to see their opener disallowed by the VAR on grounds of offside.<\/p>\n The fans at the Mapei Stadium initially tried to encourage the Azzurri<\/em> but their chants gradually died down. In the middle of the second half, when it was by now clear that this was going to be yet another forgettable performance for the Italians, silence had fallen on the stands of the Mapei. It was unreal.<\/p>\n Enough now. Time to restart with a new project.\u00a0Whoever is going to take the reins has a gargantuan task ahead, one where he has much more to lose than to win. Good luck to him. We don\u2019t envy him.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n