I happened to watch Italy-Poland and it was an unlucky loss, but they just didn't use their chances.
- I was very disappointed by Barella, who wasn't really present. I thought he would be in a more dominant role in this tournament, as he is considered to be far above average.
- Chiesa proved he is a baller. Very tricky and pacey, also frequently trying to do things. There are two buts:
1) His end product is above garbage. He makes Politano look efficient.
2) He is a ball hog. He can be very very frustrating with that.
- Dimarco wasn't as bad as made out, he had some decent crosses in the first half, and always found space with overlapping runs, but didn't get a single pass by Chiesa.
- Mancini had a good game, but he gets caught out of Position too often, because his defending is strongly based on anticipating. He has to improve the feeling
of making the right move in the right moment, because else he will always get exposed on a higher Level.
There is one Player which interested me the most, because of the current hype surrounding him: Alessandro Bastoni.
And the more I watched, the more I saw a world class defender in the next three years. Boy oh Boy is this guy good. He is not spectacular in the way of playing, but extremely calm, composed, and mature in his style of playing. He has everything; positioning, stature, speed, passing, tackling, and anticipation to become one of the best defenders in the world. Him being left footed is an extra to that.
If you ask me, Bastoni should be carefully evaluated by Conte this pre season, because he is certainly going to get playing time in a three man defence, if only Godin comes and Miranda leaves.