How Luciano Spalletti led Italy to Euro 2024 qualification after World Cup qualifying disaster

The current European champions clinched qualification on Monday

Italy will play in UEFA Euro 2024 next summer in Germany. It should not sound like big news considering that the Azzurri are the reigning champs. However, many things have changed since the summer of 2021 when Roberto Mancini's team won in penalties against England at Wembley. 

Since then the Italian national team had a big crisis that led the Azzurri shockingly missing a second straight World Cup. Mancini, despite the big disappointment, decided to stay in charge but one year later parted ways with the Italian federation before agreeing a deal to become the new manager of the Saudi Arabian national team. 

When Mancini left, Italy FA President Gabriele Gravina decided to appoint Luciano Spalletti as the new head coach. An experienced manager, he won the Serie A title with Napoli just weeks prior. The Italian coach had the difficult task of qualifying for Euro 2024 in the same group as England and Spain, but most importantly, he had to bring the positive mentality back to the dressing room, which seemed a bit lost after the end of the Mancini cycle.