Italy manager: Claudio Ranieri turns down chance to be new Azzurri boss

Monday’s win against Moldova took place in a surreal atmosphere; on the bench sat a coach who had already been officially dismissed 48 hours before kick-off.

When Spalletti was appointed almost two years ago, he was at the peak of his career – fresh off winning the Scudetto with Napoli – while Italy had just been abandoned by Saudi Arabia-bound Roberto Mancini, who had given them a European title but also missed out on Qatar 2022.

So what went wrong?

Spalletti’s tenure ends after 24 games, with 12 wins and six defeats, a dire European Championship last summer, a promising Nations League group stage and a thunderous fall in Norway.

Having enjoyed success with a 3-5-2 system, it was as though the team had gone back a year to the miserable defeat to Switzerland in the last 16 of the Euros.

Questions remain why he prepared all week with a 3-4-2-1 formation before switching back to 3-5-2 in the pre-Norway meeting.

“After Euro 2024, Spalletti acknowledged he had tried to convey too many ideas to the players, ending up creating pressure and confusion,” Nosotti told the BBC.

“So he simplified things and went back to a three-man defence, a popular solution for many of the players in his squad.

“Mateo Retegui and Moise Kean were central forwards functional to his game, and he built his team around the Inter [Milan] group of players, who regularly play a 3-5-2 formation at club level too.

“Results were immediate, with victories in Paris and Brussels in the Nations League as a result of entertaining football.

“He again abandoned the path before Norway that gave him the most confidence. Certainly not only the coach is to blame; players at his disposal are what they are, but he could have understood that time was not enough to coach them the way he wants to.”

Nosotti added: “With Mancini, the national team took a step forward. His was a team without prima donnas.

“This group was not so tight-knit evidently, among players and towards the coach.”