Italy have played four matches under the guidance of new head coach Luciano Spalletti, with a record of two wins, one draw and one defeat. In 360 minutes of football, the Azzurri have spent 196 (54.4%) in the league, 131 level and 33 in a losing position. From those four matches, they have picked up seven points (1.75 per game). In terms of the goals, Italy have scored eight in that time through five different players (3 Frattesi, 2 Berardi, 1 Bonaventura, Immobile, Scamacca). They have scored one header (Immobile), one goal through a substitute (Frattesi against Malta) and two braces: Frattesi against Ukraine and Berardi against Malta. They have conceded five goals in four games (1.25 per match).

39 players were called up to the team during the international windows in September and October, 28 of them getting minutes on the pitch. Donnarumma has played the most football in that time (4 appearances and 360 minutes played, 31 more than Barella) and has the most caps out of any player in the current squad (58), having overtaken Immobile in October (57). Retegui has the fewest minutes (18) of any player with at least one appearance. Barella, Bastoni, Dimarco, Donnarumma and Raspadori are the five players who have featured in all four of those matches. Dimarco has been subbed off the most (3 games out of 4), while Biraghi and Orsolini have come off the bench in every game they were available for (3 out of 3). Only one player has made his international debut under Spalletti so far: Udogie (Malta).

With six apiece, Inter and Roma have had the most players called up by Spalletti. 39 of the players come from eleven Italian clubs (Inter and Roma 6, Lazio 5, Juventus and Napoli 4, Atalanta and Fiorentina 2, Bologna, Genoa, Monza and Sassuolo) and six foreign clubs, five from the Premier League and one from Ligue 1 (Tottenham Hotspur 2, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Newcastle United and PSG 1).

The lowest average age of Italy’s starting XI in these four games was against Ukraine: 25 years and 2 months. North Macedonia: 27 years and 6 months. Malta: 27 years and 2 months. England: 26 years and 10 months.

Gigio Donnarumma’s 58 caps sees him draw level in the all-time list with Francesco Totti as well as another goalkeeper, who made history for Italy, Walter Zenga. Only taking goalkeepers in account, Donnarumma and Zenga are level in third, behind Buffon (176) and Zoff (112). The PSG reached 48 caps seven years after making his debut (1 September 2016) and at the age of 24. He has played an average of 8 international matches per year. Furthermore, no Italy player past or present has played against England more than Gigio (6, level with Benetti, Causio and Zoff).

With Immobile unavailable for the most recent window, Donnarumma overtook him as the current Italy player with the most caps. Nicolò Barella also continues to climb the rankings, having drawn level with Ferrara, Florenzi, Jorginho and Vieri on 49 appearances.

Domenico Berardi scored his first Italy brace in the Malta game in October and now have eight goals overall for his country (level with Barella) in 27 appearances, 0-29 per game. Prior to that, he hadn’t scored in international football for two years (against Belgium in Turin on 10 October 2021).

Gianluca Scamacca got on the scoresheet in London to bag his first international goal in his 13th appearance, two years on from his debut (September 2021). He is the second Italy player in history to score his first goal in international football at Wembley; the first was Brighenti on 6 May 1959 (England 2-2 Italy). Two others have scored their first Italy goals in games against England: Gattuso (in Turin in 2000) and Retegui (in Naples in 2023).

Giacomo Bonaventura scored his first Italy too, on his 16th appearance, ten years following his debut (May 2013). He became the oldest player to score their first Italy goal at 24 years and 53 days.

Davide Frattesi is in great form in front of goal, having scored in the 4-0 win over Malta, his fourth Italy goal in nine appearances (0.44 per game), and also provided an assist. The Inter midfielder is Italy’s top scorer under Spalletti with three goals, ahead of Berardi

 

PLAYERS CALLED UP (39) / September – November 2023
GOALKEEPERS (4)			Donnarumma, Meret, Provedel, Vicario
DEFENDERS (13)			Acerbi, Bastoni, Biraghi, Casale, Darmian, Di Lorenzo, Dimarco, Gatti, G. Mancini, Romagnoli, Scalvini,  Spinazzola, Udogie
MIDFIELDERS (8)			Barella, Bonaventura, Cristante, Frattesi, Locatelli, Lo. Pellegrini, Pessina, Tonali.
FORWARDS (14)			Belotti, Berardi, Chiesa, El Shaarawy, Gnonto, Immobile, Kean, Orsolini, Politano, Raspadori, Retegui,  Scamacca, Zaccagni,  Zaniolo.

 

PLAYER STATS (of the 28 who have played)
PLAYER	A	Mp	G	Sub	So
DONNARUMMA	4	360	-5	0	0
BARELLA	4	329	0	0	2
BASTONI	4	297	0	1	0
DIMARCO	4	256	0	1	3
RASPADORI	4	175	0	2	1
DI LORENZO	3	270	0	0	0
SCALVINI	3	211	0	1	0
FRATTESI	3	205	3	1	0
CRISTANTE	3	186	0	1	0
ORSOLINI	3	46	0	3	0
BIRAGHI	3	43	0	3	0
LOCATELLI	2	180	0	0	0
MANCINI G.	2	149	0	0	1
BERARDI	2	143	2	0	2
ZACCAGNI	2	140	0	0	2
ZANIOLO	2	116	0	1	1
KEAN	2	106	0	1	1
SCAMACCA	2	74	0	1	1
UDOGIE	2	74	0	1	1
GNONTO	2	40	0	2	0
DARMIAN	1	90	0	0	0
IMMOBILE	1	90	1	0	0
TONALI	1	89	0	0	1
BONAVENTURA	1	87	1	0	1
EL SHAARAWY	1	87	0	0	1
ACERBI	1	63	0	0	1
POLITANO	1	46	0	0	1
RETEGUI	1	18	0	1	0
A: Appearances; MP: Minutes Played; G: Goals; Sub: Substitute Appearances; SO: Subbed Off.