Malta vs. Italy: Poor Performance Highlights Need for Azzurri Improvement

Italy scraped a narrow 1-0 win over Malta on Monday evening, extending their perfect record under Antonio Conte and their solid start to qualifying for the UEFA European Championship in 2016. However, while they once again secured maximum points, the performance of the Azzurri left much room for improvement.

Sitting atop Group H with nine points, Italy can find positives to take away from the match: a goal from debutant Graziano Pelle, another clean sheet and a plethora of created chances, all reasons to hope the future for this side remains bright.

Yet the encounter also showed a huge number of flaws within this incarnation of the Azzurri in numerous areas in which the side must look to improve before the next international break. Indeed, with Croatia heading to the peninsula next month in a top-of-the-table clash, Conte and his players have much work to do if they are to continue their winning streak.

“We have to improve,” the coach told Italian state broadcaster RAI shortly after the final whistle (h/t Football Italia), and it is impossible to argue with that assessment. While he added that “four straight wins ought to build our confidence and morale,” there is little doubt this was far from a good performance by the four-time World Cup winners.

Stats site WhoScored.com shows Italy dominated proceedings at the Ta' Qali National Stadium, managing 65.7 per cent of possession and taking 19 shots to their opponent's five. Hitting the woodwork three times, the visitors can consider themselves unlucky not to have recorded a much more comprehensive victory.

Yet seeing Croatia hand a 6-0 drubbing to an Azerbaijan side who held Italy to a much narrower 2-1 scoreline on Friday evening, it is impossible to escape the feeling that Conte’s men must improve quickly. While a number of players spoke of the importance of the three points gained, Claudio Marchisio demanded a better display as he told RAI (h/t Football Italia):

"

It is not easy to face teams like this and Malta were even more clammed up than Azerbaijan, more tactically smart, but we are Italy and ought to prove ourselves more in these games

We need to look at the positives, which are the four victories. We have to focus on giving more, as we are capable of so much more and Croatia will be fighting for the top of the group.

"

It must be noted that Conte opted to rest a number of players against Malta, with Andrea Pirlo and Simone Zaza perhaps the most notable absentees. Their absence severely weakened the side, a problem accentuated by the injuries that robbed the coach of Andrea Barzagli and Daniele De Rossi.

Missing such high-quality players would trouble any team at this level, but to be truly competitive in France next summer, the other members of the Italy squad must now begin to step up. Men like Ciro Immobile, who has begun to net at an impressive rate for Borussia Dortmund, need to carry their club form onto the international stage.

The striker has yet to add to his friendly strike against the Netherlands in September, and his stuttering form in front of goal for Italy only serves to highlight Mario Balotelli’s exclusion from the Azzurri set-up. The Liverpool star has yet to feature since Conte replaced Cesare Prandelli, and now a return cannot be too far away.

Simply put, Italy need more from those who have featured recently, a crop of players certainly good enough to deliver far greater performances than those witnessed this term. While the matches against Norway, Azerbaijan and Malta have seen them win nine points, they have also witnessed a failure to impress.

The new coach has only had four matches in which to imprint his identity on the Italian national team, but he also has yet to oversee a performance which captures the imagination, one which makes Azzurri fans believe in this team. Conte and Italy must show they can compete with the best, and there is no better time to start than with Croatia’s visit to San Siro next month.