Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has hinted he could play with a single striker when his team meets Germany in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals in March.

    The Azzurri finished second in Group A2, while Germany were the winners of Group A3. In the first leg of the two matches on March 20. Spalletti is happy to have two excellent strikers. Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean, but in this type of game, he may only use one center forward.

    “If you play a 3-5-2 against a team that defends low. It’s more difficult to break them down and you’re more dangerous with two strikers in the box,” Spalletti told Gazzetta dello Sport.

    “Let me use some players as examples – wing-backs like Dimarco and Cambiaso, unlike Kvaratskhelia and Politano, play more on the wing and beat defenders one-on-one to create scoring opportunities.”

    “If your wingers are more about controlling space than dribbling past opponents. You’re going to be relying more on crosses, so having two strikers like Reteki and Keane helps you control space better. Sometimes one is not enough, in that context, they can definitely play together.”

    However, the Germans will not drop deep to block, and Spalletti said: “Of course it won’t be like that. They will press us very hard, so Reteki and Keane will have a bigger role towards the end of the game with five substitutions, giving them more room to make changes during the game.”

    “This factor is not given much importance. The concept of starting players and substitutes is still vague. Am I exaggerating a bit? Yes, sometimes it is better to have starting players on the pitch for the last 30 minutes.”

    “In the past before games like this we would hope to have a reliable centre-forward. But in March, at least now we can say we are here with the confidence of the team. Having two strikers who have proven themselves and who feel confident as well.”