Frustration for Italy! Back to the drawing board for Luciano Spalletti after insipid Italy are held to goalless stalemate by Turkey

Italy looked uninspiring, dull and flat against a tame Turkey side on Tuesday evening at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna. The reigning European champions lacked creativity and were slow off the blocks as the visitors looked content to sit back and wait for the occasional counter. Chances came at a premium and both teams created very little in attack until the final minute of first-half stoppage time.

Baris Yilmaz was allowed a free header by Italy’s defence but the striker could not keep his attempt on target. Seconds later, the Azzurri got their first significant chance of the game when Bryan Cristante rose highest to get his head to a Lorenzo Pellegrini corner but his effort crashed against the woodwork.

Luciano Spalletti made two changes at half-time as he introduced Mattia Zaccagni and Andrea Cambiaso to replace Riccardo Orsolini and Federico Chiesa. Arsenal star, Jorginho, who put in a decent shift at midfield, was hooked just after the hour mark as Nicolo Fagioli made his way onto the pitch. Things started to open up in the final 10 minutes, as both sides decided to throw caution to the wind, but a lack of clinical finishing did not help their cause.

Bryan Cristante was a bright spot in Italy’s midfield. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder kept the midfield ticking along with Jorginho and, after the Gunners star was taken off, he further got the opportunity to express himself in the centre of the park. The Roma star could have got on the score sheet as well with some little luck but was denied by the post.

Luciano Spalletti will be a concerned manager after the insipid showing against Turkey. Despite enjoying the bulk of the possession, they had very few ideas about what to do going forwards and Turkey’s defence was hardly tested. Expectations may not be high heading to Germany and this lacklustre performance will do little to change perceptions.

Italy will return to action against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 9 in another preparatory friendly before their Euro 2024 campaign opener against Albania on June 15. Whereas, Turkey will play against Poland on June 10 before facing Georgia on June 18 in the European Championship.