Luciano Spalletti’s decision to call up Matteo Gabbia instead of Federico Gatti reflects his belief in Gabbia’s readiness, as Gatti requires more recovery time after a recent injury. While Gabbia joins a squad facing challenges in the attack, with Artem Dovbyk emerging as the only consistent scorer for Roma, the team’s overall performance has been underwhelming. Despite significant summer investments, the Giallorossi find themselves in 9th place, having scored only nine goals in as many matches, highlighting the need for more offensive contributions from players like Gabbia and Dovbyk to elevate their standings.
Why Gabbia earned Italy call-up over Gatti: ‘We can still call up another player’
Luciano Spalletti expressed his satisfaction in calling up a Milan player and selecting Matteo Gabbia for the upcoming Nations League matches against Belgium and Israel. He also assured that Juventus’s Federico Gatti, who wasn’t included this time, will have plenty of chances in the future.
The head coach of the Italy national team held his first press conference on Monday afternoon in advance of the next Nations League games set for October 10 and 14.
Reasons for Spalletti Selecting Gabbia Over Gatti
Spalletti believes that Gabbia has rightfully earned his call-up and explained that Gatti requires additional time to recover after being sidelined for a short period in recent weeks.
“Matteo has shown that he knows how to command the defensive unit,” Spalletti said. “He’s shown that he’s a very intense and attentive player in the way that he does things. He always plays a high line, he always speaks with his teammates.
“We needed something like that, and it’s an extra pleasure to call up a Milan player because that is a club that can help us a lot, even if they do not have too many Italians right now.”
Gatti will have future opportunities despite not being included this time. The other central defenders in the squad are Gabbia, Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Leicester City’s Caleb Okoli.
“Gatti has a slight issue to resolve. He would have needed to recover if he had come with us, but we want healthy players. Fiorentina informed us of Kean’s situation last night, so we are fine.
“To do well, we will need an extra player, but we are lucky to have midfielders who are confident and scoring goals, and this helps us feel calm. We can still call up another player if we need to, even the day before a match. But if everything goes to plan, we are fine.”
Dovbyk: The Only Bright Spot in Roma’s Attack So Far
After a slow start, Artem Dovbyk has found his rhythm, but the Roma attack still struggles, as he remains the only player scoring. The Giallorossi had greater expectations following their significant summer investments, yet they currently sit in 9th place and have won only twice in all competitions, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
The capital club has scored only nine goals in as many matches. Their only truly convincing performance was against Udinese in Ivan Juric’s debut, where they defeated their opponents with a score of three-nil.
Dovbyk took three matches to score his first goal for Roma and has continued to find the net since, tallying four goals in the last six games. In contrast, Paulo Dybala scored only once due to some injury issues and the situation in Saudi Arabia that impacted him at the start of the season.
Stephan El Shaarawy and especially Matias Soulé, another key signing from the summer, have yet to register on the scoresheet, similar to Lorenzo Pellegrini. Other players who have contributed goals so far include Eldor Shomurodov, Tommaso Baldanzi, Niccolò Pisilli, and Bryan Cristante.
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