Italian fans remain surprised by their team's performance, as some of them expected a more difficult match against the Ukrainians, especially given the failure in the last round.
Photo: Oksana Vasylievavale17: Gnoto is not for the national team, Dimarco is bad! Everyone else played much better than Raspadori against an opposition defence that gives you opportunities. The coach needed to change the striker. The same Retegui could have scored much more in this game if he had played in the starting line-up... I wonder when Luciano will realise this?
Italianoaldila: Ukraine was a real red flag for Spalletti's team. Our guys managed to recover from the slap in the face from North Macedonia and from the first minutes demonstrated that we deserve a direct ticket to the Euros. Many people say that our national team is poor, and, of course, in terms of the top stars in the squad, it is true, but if everyone pulls the cart together and with all their determination, it will be difficult for everyone to fight against them. Come on, we are Italy, after all! The game against Ukraine should have given our team the taste of victory and prosperity that we have been waiting for.
Oscar1984: Today, on a decent pitch, we managed to play our game, even though we had glaring gaps in attack. The Ukrainians just couldn't take advantage of them - they didn't have enough quality. But maybe that's a good thing. We thank them for giving us the first goal, we deserved it.
lorenzovan: I'm sorry, I criticised the national team so much after the previous matches, but with the Ukrainians they managed to make all their dreams come true. And I can't say that the Ukrainians are a weak opponent. Yes, everyone expected a lot more from them, because they did a lot with England. We allowed them almost nothing, did not miss a single threat or mistake, and attacked very sharply. We had to score five or six goals, and then we would have been flying on wings in this qualifier. So far, we are only at a flying start, where we have jumped the first fence.
Duetorri: The first half of the game was good, but I think Ukraine was quite inert. The game with England left them with the strength and mood at home.
El Pibe De Oro: It's too early to judge this team, but at least we can say that there are individuals. Personally, I've already seen quite a lot of Spalletti in the team, the most impressive things were the high defence, the overlap on the flanks and the intensity.
We have to see how Italy will play on the pitch in Ukraine and especially in England. I think the return game may be different, and Ukraine may be completely different there.
If Spalletti, as I believe, forms the team according to his idea of football, I would not be surprised if we win this qualifier. Zagnolo has surprised me, he is in good shape, very technical and above all, much more disciplined than usual, he can be a strength of the team. Not forgetting that Chiesa is another champion. Our midfield and defence are strong. In short, we have to wait and believe.
Zanzur: A good game played with a good attitude. Of course, this is not the case to be happy, just like it is not the case to bury the playoffs after the game with Macedonia. Unfortunately, at the moment we can't finish matches with more confidence, even in the matches against Ukraine we felt constant pressure and nerves. An opponent far from perfect form could have punished us. Playing with a one-goal lead... Too many nerves for us. Either you have an ironclad defence or you risk conceding a goal out of nothing. Today was both...
SarriCrea: Today was a completely different Italy than on Saturday, they dominated the game and won well deservedly. The most interesting hint is that Spalletti, without a top-level forward, could find it more useful to make arrangements with many players on the pitch who are good in the short term, such as Zaccagni, Raspadori, Fratesi, Orsolini.
Of course, Ukraine was a ghost team today, so we could easily take the lead, but the progress was noticeable, and time will tell how permanent it will be. I would say "cautious optimism", although it's an expression I don't really like.
Amorosi: The game against Ukraine is, in many parts, the most beautiful and interesting game Italy has played in recent years. You can already see the hand of Spalletti, who has given space to players who can give us extra dynamism and unpredictability (Fratesi, Raspadori, Zaccagni). After suffering a bit, we eventually dominated, paying dearly for one of the few chances the opposition had. We put the opposition out of the game and should have scored more goals. But, in general, everything went perfectly. Under these conditions, we can still qualify directly and hopefully prepare for the European Championships with enthusiasm. Forza Azzurri!
Luno: I wonder if Shevchenko had played for Ukraine, would the game have ended in a draw? In general, we played well, but the opponent, who created almost nothing, also had chances if they had a more sharp-playing striker. There are enough problems at the back, but it all came in the second half. The first one went very, very well, and you can see the progress. Hopefully, in the next games, we'll have a more reliable game at the back.
Di Somma: A well-deserved victory with a result that is also attractive thanks to the creation of scoring opportunities. A great half hour with a dynamic team and decent quality, a quarter of an hour of eclipse and a good second half. Very good wingers (unlike the match against Macedonia), from whose movements Fratesi's two goals were born, and good Spalletti in managing the changes, about which there were some reservations after the match on Saturday night. There is work to be done and we must be prepared to suffer in the future, but for now, 3 points is enough. Especially with our main rival for second place.
Sessassi: Overall, we won a game that wasn't difficult, we could have finished it better, but a bit of luck that allowed us to open the scoring in the first half on a mistake by the Ukrainian midfielder and a bit of commitment from everyone. But the slowing down, I just don't understand it, to keep playing backwards, the nerves and the unproductive actions, no matter how long we kept going... There are questions, but I have to give credit to the Ukrainians, they managed to turn off our passion as the game went on.
Billion: And now what? And where are your cynical and humiliating comments like "will we give the victory to Ukraine?", "Eurovision in the field..."? How quickly an Italian can "change his shoes"???? Then I will say only one thing: do not lose hope that England will give us victory!!! Especially after the Eurovision defeat!
Ds Farzio: I see people rejoicing at the 2-1 home win over Ukraine. All it was was three points and some hint of a game. Finishing at a shameful level, Gnonto's crocodile scene was tragicomic, as was his performance. A defence that went completely mad when pressed by the Ukrainians, who were far from their ideal game.
A good game by Barella, Zagnolo and Dimarco, but it's not enough to say we are satisfied, a real team would have finished this game with 5 goals. There is still a lot of work to be done to complete the selection, because only the game gives hope.
Dmytro Malyanov
