Italian media player ratings for Juventus duo vs France: Cambiaso decent, Locatelli mediocre

Club News

November 18, 2024 - 2:00 pm

Juventus had two representatives in Italy’s starting lineup for last night’s 1-3 defeat at the hands of France in the UEFA Nations League.

Luciano Spalletti selected Manuel Locatelli as a Regista at the heart of his 3-5-1-1 formation, while the versatile Andrea Cambiaso operated at the right flank as is often the case with the national team.

The Azzurri only had to avoid losing by two goals or more to preserve their spot at the top of the group, but they failed to do so. Instead, Adrien Rabiot cemented himself as the ultimate hero for France by nodding home two towering headers thanks to Lucas Digne’s assists.

Nevertheless, Cambiaso also had his moment, meeting Federico Dimarco’s cross with a clinical finish that left no chance for Mike Maignan.

But despite getting his name on the scoresheet, the wingback didn’t receive flashy notes on the player ratings of the most prominent Italian newspapers (via IlBianconero), but only mild grades varying between 6/10 and 6.5/10.

For his part, Locatelli was a late addition to the Italian squad following Samuele Ricci’s injury, making a long-awaited return to the Azzurri while riding on his positive Juventus form. However, the 26-year-old didn’t do himself any favors with a lackluster display in the middle of the park.

The former Sassuolo man failed to inspire, and found it hard to keep track with Christopher Nkunku at times. Moreover, he lost the aerial due to his former Juventus ally Rabiot on France’s third goal before being hauled off in favor of Nicolo Rovella. Hence, Locatelli received mediocre grades between 5/10 and 5.5/10.

So it remains to be seen if Spalletti would be willing to call up the Juventus stalwart once again, or drop the ball on him, especially with the likes of Ricci, Rovella and Nicolo Fagioli all vying for the deep-lying playmaker role.