Italy boss Luciano Spalletti backs Tottenham Hotspur’s Destiny Udogie to ‘help’ him in England clash
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti believes Tottenham Hotspur’s Destiny Udogie can help the nation in the UEFA Euros 2024 qualifier against England at Wembley on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old left-back made his senior bow for I Nerazzurri in their 4-0 win over Malta last week. He came on late in the second half and assisted Davide Frattesi’s stoppage-time strike.
It was a dream debut for a man waiting for so long to make his senior debut for his country. Spurs gave him the pedestal for that, especially Ange Postecoglou.
The Australian-Greek manager has trusted Udogie with playing time this season and he has featured in all eight of our Premier League games so far. He is an important part of a Spurs team that sits on top of the league table.
Big game for Udogie
Spalletti has undoubtedly taken notice of that. Speaking to Sky Italia (h/t Metro) ahead of the game, he said:
“Udogie has everything. Like all young players, he needs experience, but he has an important engine and in a game where physicality and strength can make the difference, he can help us.”
It remains to be seen if Spalletti starts Federico Dimarco on the left flank as he did against Malta. But there is one thing Udogie offers that not a lot of Italy players bring to the table.
He has experience playing on English soil against Premier League players, albeit just this season. He has trained with PL stars under Postecoglou and could have an idea about what to expect at Wembley.
More than that, he is physically strong, fast, and likes to attack — something which Italy’s full-backs have become famous for in recent years. It is a meteoric rise for our young left-back and a strong performance against the Three Lions will only propel him to greater heights.
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Italy trail England, who lead the group, by three points after five games. It is worth mentioning that players who impress in the coming months will surely be in line to play at the Euro 2024 in Germany.
