Italy National Football Team Formation

Starting Lineup

Donnarumma · Buongiorno · Dimarco · Bastoni · Darmian · Fagioli · Barella · Bellanova · Lo. Pellegrini · Chiesa · Scamacca

Italy plays a high press and vertical style of football. The team utilizes a 3-4-3 formation to control the tempo and attack. The Azzurri look to win the ball high up the pitch and attack the space behind the opposition defense with speed.

Donnarumma stands in goal to provide presence and shot stopping. The back line consists of a back three. Darmian acts as the right centre back to cover the wide area and track back. Buongiorno sits in the middle to defend zonally and win the header. Bastoni operates as the left centre back, using his passing range to play out from the back and split the defence with a through ball. This defensive unit stays compact to prevent runs in behind and holds the line together.

A central midfield pairing of Fagioli and Barella controls the middle. Barella uses his energy to press in a mid-block and win the second ball. Fagioli works to connect the defensive and attacking lines and carries the ball forward. On the flanks, Dimarco and Bellanova act as wide midfielders. Dimarco is an attacking wing back who will push high to overlap the winger. Bellanova provides width on the right to stretch the defence and deliver early crosses.

The front three uses a lone striker in Scamacca. He acts as a target man to hold up the ball and find the feet of the striker. Lo. Pellegrini and Chiesa play as wide attackers. Chiesa uses his dribbling to cut inside from the right and create chances. They press from the front to force a long ball and win possession high. The team looks to hit in behind on the transition to catch the opponent.

This formation offers wide overloads from the overlapping runs of Dimarco and Bellanova. The team can also use the energy of Barella to squeeze the space in the middle and win the second ball. Speed of transition is a major strength when Chiesa or Lo. Pellegrini break quickly to hit the opposition in behind.

The Italy lineup is designed for aggressive teams that want to dominate through pressure. It is best suited for matches against opponents that try to play short from the back.