After two days of rest for the European Cup, from the early morning of June 30, 8 1/8 finals will be played one after another. First up is defending champions Italy, who will face Switzerland, who have been in the tournament for 30 June at 00 a.m. England, on the other hand, were a day late, but Gareth Southgate seemed eager to show the fans his 'new move' in the knockout rounds – Bukayo Saka at left-back.
Due to the injury of the main left wingback Dimarco and has been confirmed to miss the match with the Swiss team, the main left central defender Bastoni also has a minor injury, Italian coach Spalletti revealed in an interview with Sky Sports reporter and transfer expert Di Marzio before the game that he will change the formation in the game against Switzerland and play 433 in the back four system.
Darmian will replace Dimarco at left-back, with Di Lorenzo continuing to trust in the right-back position. With Calafioli suspended, Roberto Mancini Jr. will start alongside Bastoni. If the latter's cold does not recover in time, 25-year-old Torino centre-back Buongino will partner Roberto Mancini Jr.
In the midfield position, Juventus midfielder Faggioli is expected to replace Jorginho as a midfielder, and Spalletti is trying to avoid Jorginho being held by Laimer on the opposite side again? After all, the former has twice faced Laimer and missed points, which indirectly led to Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup. In addition, Barella remains the undisputed first-choice midfielder, with Roma midfielder Cristante also set to start on the left side of midfield.
With three up front, Spalletti intends to start the team again with striker Scamacca to take on the Swiss backline, which is made up of Akanji, Fabian Scher and Ricar-Rodriguez. Scamacca is "fighting" in the middle, and sending two speed wingers will undoubtedly get more "second point" opportunities. Chiesa Jr. and El Shaarawy are both Spalletti's favourites.
In this way, compared with the lineup with Croatia, except for Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Darmian, Bastoni, and Barella who continued to play in the 1/8 final with the Swiss team, the remaining six positions will likely make personnel adjustments. In such a crucial knockout game, Spalletti not only has to change the lineup, but also has to change a number of starting players, for the defending champions, I don't know if it is a blessing or a curse?
At the same time, England, which is in the second half of the "happiness" with Italy, in the process of preparing for the match with Slovakia at 0:00 on July 1, some media exposed the "new moves" launched by the South Gate plan. Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has told BBC5 that Gareth Southgate is interested in playing at left-back against Slovakia, and although he himself believes that this is not a solution, he will be at the mercy of the manager.
Bukayo Saka at left-back? This was already when he was 18 years old. In a crucial game like the knockout rounds of the European Championships, it would be surprising for Gareth Southgate to play a position he hadn't played in more than four years. As things stand, with Luke Shaw not fit to play and Kieran Trippier having been absent from training for two consecutive days, Southgate is likely to have Saka play at left-back.
In addition, according to The Telegraph, Manchester United's 19-year-old midfielder Maynu could start in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the game against Slovakia to increase the running coverage in midfield and allow Bellingham to play in his comfortable No.10 position. During the two days of training in England, Behring has been in that position.
Compared with the five strong teams of Germany, Portugal, France, Spain and Belgium in the first half of the region, only England and Italy in the second half of the region seem to be "unwilling to be lonely". And the coaches of the two teams, Spalletti and Southgate, can't wait to make a "new job" in the 1/8 finals, which also makes the game that was not suspenseful instantly "full of highlights".