Ireland strolled to a 1-0 win at the Aviva against Switzerland last night. The game was prefaced with a number of schoolchildren reading out the proclamation, replete with (assumedly fake) rifles. Presumably borne down by this display of military strength, the Swiss proceeded to produce an incredibly neutral performance that contributed to a largely soporific occasion.
As Ireland rolled over the Swiss, our Group E opponents Italy were in action against Spain in Udine.
Lorenzo Insigne put Italy ahead, but Artiz Aduriz equalised just two minutes later. Watch the goals below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSJEyoKmz4
So what does the game mean for the likely Italian selection against Ireland?
Regular Selection
Italy usually line up in a 4-3-3 formation. We have included the definites here, and in the cases where there is a selection debate, we have included the alternate possibilities:
The back five pick themselves, with Conte often loathe to change the midfield trio of Marchisio, Veratti and Florenzi of Roma. That said, Thiago Motta's good form for PSG this season has catapulted him into contention to grab a spot in midfield should Marchisio or Veratti be struck down by injury. Andrea Pirlo is unlikely to be in contention for a starting berth at the Euros, and Daniele De Rossi is also struggling to break into the team.
Up front, Antonio Candreva of Napoli is a regular starter, with some questions surrounding the supporting cast. Graziano Pelle appears to be slightly ahead of Simone Zaza for the No.9 role, while it is a shoot-out between Lorenzo Insigne and Eder of Inter Milan for the third spot.
Selection versus Spain
Conte experimented with a 3-4-3 formation for this clash with Spain. This was partly forced by a series of injuries, with Giorgio Chiellini, Marco Veratti, Andrea Barzagli and Claudio Marchisio all missing through injury. Added to that, Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco were unavailable owing commitments in the MLS.
That gave a number of fringe players the chance to impress, most notably Thiago Motta, who made his first appearance for the national team since the 2014 World Cup. It was also a chance for Inter Milan striker Eder and Graziano Pelle to nail down a starting berth alongside Candreva.
Here is the team in full:
The Winners
The undoubted winner was substitute Lorenzo Insigne. Eder was in fine form in the earlier part of this season with Sampdoria, but a loan move to Inter in January has checked his form, and is yet to score for the Nerazzurri. Insigne, by contrast, was introduced as a substitute for Eder after 51 minutes and sparkled, and it was Insigne who applied the finishing touch to Giacherrini's cross to put the Italians ahead.
Along with that, Graziano Pelle can be heartened by the fact that he started the game and played an hour, making way for Zaza with half an hour left. Pelle plays more often than Zaza (compare Zaza's 18 appearances for Juventus to Pelle's 30 for Southampton) and has a fine scoring record for Italy, with four goals in 11 appearances. That said, Zaza has been in good goalscoring form for Juve this season, scoring seven goals in those 18 games, so Pelle has a fight on his hands to retain the jersey.
Thiago Motta played a full ninety minutes on his first international appearance for almost two years, and will likely come into contention for a starting berth. Marchisio is currently injured, and Veratti is similarly injury-prone: Motta's PSG teammate has not played a full ninety minutes since January.
Italy's next game is against Germany on Tuesday, and expect Zaza to be given a chance to impress along with Stephan El Shaarawy.
