Italy has good quality when compared to other teams. They just have too low a confidence because they're nowhere near the level of Spain, France and Germany, especially when you consider depth. But Italy, on paper, is still a top 6-7 nation in Europe. Would argue that Belgium is ahead and then there's Portugal who have gelled well under Santos and get their results and there's also Croatia who have a great but limited numerically squad. Italy comes right after that, maybe ahead of Portugal, maybe not. And there are several nations on a similar level, but in terms of quality Italy is still ahead of the likes of Holland, England, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark etc.
The main problem is some severe weaknesses in the full back positions. Everyone is either average or slightly above average and then you have hardcore Italian weaknesses. Center backs that are not world class or an attacking midfielder that is not world class. Quality wingers is a nice bonus, but they never carried Italy. They were useful, but they weren't really the leaders of the team. Italy has always relied on great goalkeepers, great defenders and a great trequartista. And usually there were at least 2-3 goalkeepers per squad, at least 3 centerbacks and at least 2 top class trequartisti. Now there's none of either so Italy is forced to change its identity. Maybe Mancini can be that guy as he's not really a standard Italian coach. Using this Nations League to try out new things is great and I don't think it will ever gain a prestigious standard, but it wouldn't be nice to see Italy end up playing against Ukraine, Austria and Greece in the B level, so it's vital that this team doesn't not fail entirely. A win vs Portugal at home and at Poland at this point is a must.
As for their players, I always rated Jorginho as a world class player and he rarely disappoints me. Maybe now that the moved to the most overrated league in the world more people can jump on the bandwagon. Insigne is another great player who almost everyone in the world would love to have. There's no "consistent" wingers out there, not even Cristiano if you consider him a winger - which he has stopped being since 2010 or so - is consistent. There's a large amount of players who are on a good level but not a top level. That's what Italy needs. Not many teams can have so many 7,5/10 or 8/10 players as Italy does with the Bonaventura, Immobile, Berardi, Bellotti, Gagliardini, Benassi, Pellegrini, Bernardeschi, Barella, Rugani, Caldara, Florenzi, Politano, Verdi etc.. The ones that can - Spain, France, Germany - also have better ones and in more numbers. There's too many of them and you cannot know which one is the best choice each time. Not many stand out against their counterparts.
The problem it's not entirely a quality one, it's a matter of finding the right players and making it work. Italy cannot be a favorite in a tournament any time soon, but they can cause an upset as we've seen from Portugal and Croatia in recent years. And in terms of depth, Italy is probably ahead of both teams. It just lacks in individual top talent, which is usually a big plus in these major tournaments, but unimportant in qualifier games.
So Italy pretty much needs a core team.
I'd go for Donnarumma under the goalposts as he's a very talented GK and stick with him until some other prodigy appears in the surface and can replace him.
Romagnoli is a must in the new era as the defence's leader. Then you have guys like Chiellini and Bonucci to rotate next to him and fill the rest of the team with Caldara, Ferrari and Rugani. Preferrably Chiellini though.
I'd stick with a Florenzi + D'Ambrosio right back situation.
The left back situation is very ugly. Spinazzola could be a solution and I'd like to see Biraghi slowly incorporated into the NT.
Which brings me to the midfield, which imo has to start and finish with a Jorginho-Verratti duo + one of Gagliardini, Barella or Pellegrini. With Benassi or Cristante as roster filler.
The left wing belongs to Insigne and there's only Bonavenura and Sansone there to rotate.
The right wing should be rotated between Bernardeschi and Chiesa with either Berardi, Politano or Verdi as an other option.
And Belotti should be the main striker. Immobile does not suit a game with no AMC behind him and Zaza is not NT material. I'd rather see Balotelli and Gabbiadini in the team who are not box strikers but can be added into the game to be dangerous from a distance, next to a box striker.
That's for a 4-3-3 system which I think suits the Italy players the most, but with the talent pool they have, they can easily switch to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 or 3-4-3- or whatever they want. As I've repeatedly said, here's no excuses about quality. It's a mental issue.
And here's the lineup I want to see more of:
-------------------------------Donnarumma
Florenzi---------Romagnoli-------------Chiellini--------Spinazzola
-----------------Verratti------Jorginho------Gagliardini
----Bernardeschi-----------------------------------------Insigne
-----------------------------Belotti
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