What to expect from Italy in 2025 | OneFootball

The Italy revival of 2024 had its highs and lows but was a positive journey overall. Giancarlo Rinaldi looks at what the next 12 months might have in store for Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri.

It will all begin with Germany. For fans of La Nazionale there are few more familiar foes who have delivered such special memories down the years. Depending on your generation, it might be the Game of the Century World Cup semi-final of 1970, or the Paolo Rossi-inspired triumph of 1982 or perhaps the Andiamo a Berlino (We’re Going to Berlin) clash of 2006. Whatever it is, encounters with Die Mannschaft have often been sweet experiences.

It won’t be as momentous as any of those games, but their Nations League two-legged showdown in March will not be without consequences. Victory or defeat will also map out the year ahead more clearly in their qualification campaign for Canada, Mexico and the USA. A win would land them encounters with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. Defeat and they cross paths with Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. The FIFA rankings suggest the former might be the tougher route but it would also offer the fewest games. In truth, if they can’t win either group, they probably shouldn’t bother heading to the big tournament in 2026.

epa11721407 Italy’s head coach Luciano Spalletti (2-R) and national team delegation head Gianluigi Buffon (R) sing their national anthem ahead of the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Belgium and Italy in Brussels, Belgium, 14 November 2024. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS

That has to be the main and only target for the year ahead. Missing out on another World Cup is unthinkable for a generation of Italy fans who are growing out without ever seeing them at the most important competition of them all. Anything other than getting there – and doing themselves justice – will be seen as failure.

Defeat by France to finish 2024 was perhaps a reality check for supporters who are passionate and tend to lurch from one extreme to the other. When the Azzurri are good, the tifosi start to think they can win anything but when they are bad their despair knows no limits. Perhaps the game with Les Bleus showed that they are currently far from the finished article but have the potential to improve much further. Equally, there were flaws which – if not addressed – could quickly undermine their prospects of rising back to the levels where they feel they belong.

Some have suggested that losing to Germany and missing out on the semi-finals and final of the Nations League in the summer might be no bad thing but that seems a bit of a defeatist approach. Winning tends to breed winning and battling with the very best would surely be a good training ground for – hopefully – a World Cup to come. Some are dismissive, but Italy should miss opportunities like this at their peril.

They will also hope to welcome back some injured stars over the course of 2025. Gianluca Scamacca is a bit of a forgotten man, but it was not so long ago that he was the great hope of Italian goal-scoring. He may have been overtaken by Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean in his absence but Spalletti will hope to welcome him back. The recent return of Giorgio Scalvini to the Atalanta ranks will also be monitored with interest. Guglielmo Vicario is another sidelined star who will hope to get back to fitness and play some part in matches at some stage.

EMPOLI, ITALY – JUNE 9: Gianluca Scamacca of Italy looks on during the International Friendly match between Italy and Bosnia Herzegovina at Stadio Carlo Castellani on June 9, 2024 in Empoli, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

And then there are the youngsters who might emerge. After a disappointing Euros, the Italy boss has shown himself much more open to calling up players in their teens or early 20s. A terrible scare has robbed him of the possibility of calling up Edoardo Bove who was in outstanding form but his teammate Pietro Comuzzo has been a revelation for the Viola this season. Atalanta’s Matteo Ruggeri, Juve’s Nicolò Savona, Empoli’s Sebastiano Esposito and even Venezia’s Gaetano Oristanio are others producing the kinds of displays of late which might merit more than a second glance. The door is surely open for plenty of the talent which has starred for the Azzurrini to make the step up in the months to come.

Above all, though, regardless of personnel, this year will be about cementing the style and swagger that the team showed in pretty prolonged spells in 2024. It won’t be perfect – it rarely is – but it has to confirm the progress seen and continue the confidence in their own abilities which saw them deliver their best displays. There is a World Cup round the corner and Italy simply cannot be absent for a third time in a row. It is nearly 20 years since they went deep in the tournament and that is what every fan will want to see when that competition rolls around. But 2025 can see a lot of good groundwork done towards establishing themselves as the global power they used to be.

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