Under-pressure Italy coach Luciano Spalletti vows to fight on after World Cup defeat to Norway
Luciano Spalletti is under mounting scrutiny as Italy head coach after a 3-0 defeat to Norway which his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma labelled 'not acceptable'.
Spalletti insisted he wanted to 'move forward' as national coach and that he had faith in his 'project' after the defeat in the World Cup qualifier in Oslo.
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Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored first-half goals for Norway, who top Group I in UEFA qualification with victories in each of their three matches to date, with Friday's match the first game for Italy in the group.
'There is a lot to improve, but I move forward with these guys,' Spalletti said after the match, in quotes carried by Gazzetta dello Sport. 'And with this project, which is not in question.'
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, meanwhile, has called on his international team-mates to take responsibility after the defeat.
'I have no words,' Donnarumma, who won the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain six days previously, said after the game.
'We need to take note of the performance tonight and improve: our fans don't deserve this.
'We need to examine our conscience, we need to come out of these nights together. We have to find the strength because we're Italy: these types of matches are not acceptable, everyone has to take responsibility. We have to be more united than ever, we need it.'
Italy and Norway are joined by Israel (six points from three games), Estonia (three points from three games) and Moldova (no points from two games) in the group.
Spalletti, 66, replaced Roberto Mancini as Italy head coach in August 2023 and oversaw a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign with a last-16 elimination to Switzerland.
The experienced coach guided Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23, the club's first league crown in 33 years.
(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
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