Overview
Italy are 9 points behind the top team in Group I and are at risk of missing the World Cup finals for the third consecutive time. Therefore, they are forced to quickly improve their performance under the leadership of the new coaching staff.
This is a strange ending for Luciano Spalletti's less successful reign as head coach of the Italian national team. In fact, he was fired before taking charge for the final game.
Despite finishing with a 2-0 victory over Moldova, Spalletti announced the end of his term at a press conference just one day after a disappointing defeat to Norway. With scars from missed World Cup appointments, the Azzurri began their journey to end their 12-year suffering with a 0-3 defeat in Oslo, thereby being left far behind by Norway in Group I.
Due to having to participate in the UEFA Nations League finals, the Italian team still has 2 matches left to play. However, the workload under new coach Gennaro Gattuso - an appointment that surprised many - is still very large.
Claudio Ranieri was previously offered a replacement for Spalletti, but he chose to stay with Roma, giving the former Napoli captain a chance.
Currently ranked 9th in the world according to the FIFA rankings, Italy will enter 2 important matches against Estonia and Israel. They must win all 6 points if they want to avoid the scenario of having to play in the play-off.
While Italy - the four-time world champions - have been absent from the recent World Cup twice in a row, despite being crowned European champions, Estonia is still waiting for its first time participating in a major tournament.
The Baltic side have lost all six previous encounters with the Azzurri, most recently a 4-0 friendly defeat in November 2020.
After escaping the risks of the Nations League to continue staying in League C, Estonia entered the World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-2 loss to Israel.
They then beat Moldova in a dramatic score chase, but fell at home to Israel and Norway. Estonia currently has only 3 points, equal to the record of the Italian team.
In theory, coach Jurgen Henn's team still has a chance to enter the top 2, despite having to compete with 3 opponents with superior FIFA rankings.
Personnel situation
Gattuso confirmed that Italy will return to a 4-man defensive formation, after the 3-defender system under Spalletti failed.
The starting lineup of Azzurri has not been determined, but captain Gianluigi Donnarumma will definitely start. destiny Udogie, Samuele Ricci and Lorenzo Lucca are absent, while the three first-time called-ups, Francesco Pio Esposito, Giovanni Fabbian and Giovanni Leoni, are likely to be on the bench.
Up front, Mateo Retegui will compete for a starting position alongside Moise Kean, Giacome Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca, the striker who has just returned from injury.
On the opposite side, Estonia has announced the list of 26 players for the match against Italy and the friendly match with Andorra.
Captain Karol Mets continues to be absent due to injury. Goalkeeper Karl Hein will start, while centre-back Maksim Paskotsi will command the defence.
Up front, veteran striker Henri Anier is still an experienced striker. However, Rauno Sappinen is the one most likely to be chosen to lead.
Expected lineup:
Italy: Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Gatti, Bastoni, Dimarco, Barella, Locatelli, Tonali, Politano, Kean, Zaccagni.
Estonia: Hein, Tur, Kuusk, Paskotsi, Saliste, Shein, Soomets, Yakovlev, Kait, Sinyavskiy, Sappinen.
The match between Italy and Estonia takes place at 1:45 am on September 6 (Vietnam time).
