“Willing to pay a corrupt German cop to frame him” - Italy fans fume as Chiesa gets dropped but 30-year-old named in Euro 2024 line-up vs Croatia

Italy fans are reacting in anger on X after Luciano Spalletti included Giovanni Di Lorenzo in the starting XI to face Croatia but dropped Federico Chiesa. The two European giants are set to face each other in their final group-stage fixture at Euro 2024 later today (June 24).

Gli Azzurri are second in Group B with three points at Euro 2024, having defeated Albania 2-1 before losing 1-0 to Spain in their next game. They still have a high chance of booking their spot in the Round of 16, as long as they avoid defeat against Croatia. The latter are at the bottom of the standings with one point and need all three points to reach the knockouts.

Gianluigi Donnarumma starts in goal for Italy. Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori, and Matteo Darmian make up the defense. The midfield consists of Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, and Lorenzo Pellegrini, while Federico Dimarco, Giacomo Raspadori, and Mateo Retegui start up front to complete the starting XI.

Fans aren't impressed with Chiesa's exclusion. The 26-year-old looked lively in Italy's opening two games at Euro 2024 and has a good record on the international stage. He's scored seven goals and registered eight assists in 49 appearances across all competitions.

Moreover, others are displeased by Di Lorenzo's inclusion in the starting XI. He struggled in their 1-0 loss to Spain, being dribbled past four times, and losing seven duels.

One fan reacted by posting:

"I’m willing to pay a corrupt German cop to frame Di Lorenzo for a crime so he can’t play in this match"

Other reactions can be viewed below:

"Ancora Di Lorenzo…" one fan posted

"Wow. What does Di Lo have on Spalletti? Insane to continue to play him despite his last two performances. Chiesa on the bench for Raspa is quite the choice as well but Raspa is more of a natural seconda punta so that one at least makes some sense," one fan stated

"Di Lo still starting and dropping Chiesa for Raspadori," one fan was left dismayed

"Except for Di Lorenzo, I'm quite good with this line-up," another added

"no chiesa no party," one fan predicted

"NO CHIESA WHAT," another exclaimed

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"Create problems for Croatia’s tactical system” - Italy boss Luciano Spalletti details game plan ahead of Euro 2024 clash

Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti has defended his decision to switch to a 3-5-2 formation against Croatia, explaining they played similarly in the warm-ups in the United States. The Azzurri previously played a 4-2-3-1 formation in their Euro 2024 games against Albania and Spain.

Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Scamacca were dropped to facilitate Italy's new formation against Croatia. Spalletti justified his decision to Sky Sports Italia:

“In America, we already played like this, in the Empoli friendly we played like this, and the squad we picked made it look like we’d do this. “It was something we had talked about. I needed to get someone closer to the centre-forward, because Scamacca was a bit too isolated.

"I also needed to absorb the central runs from Croatia behind our midfielders with their wide strikers, followed by their very attacking full-backs."

He added:

“Rather than having one absorb from the right or the left, we already have two waiting for them and keep the quality intact in midfield with Jorginho, Pellegrini, Barella and Raspadori. They can dialogue and then send players forward to create problems for Croatia’s tactical system.”

This will be Italy's third game against Croatia in a major tournament. The latter won 2-1 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup before playing out a 1-1 draw at Euro 2012.