Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci was one of the revelations of Luciano Spalletti’s Italy team that lined up against France in Paris on Friday night, with outlets in Italy suggesting that he played with the experience of a seasoned veteran.
The 23-year-old was on for his first start for the senior national team. He had previously made two substitute appearances under Roberto Mancini in 2022, but has fought back from the disappointment of being cut from Spalletti’s EURO 2024 squad earlier this summer.
It is a difficult task to pick Italy’s best performing midfielder from Friday night. Sandro Tonali was superb on his return, providing a delightful assist with a delicate flick over the top for Federico Dimarco’s equaliser. Davide Frattesi was massively energetic and capped his performance off with what turned out to be the game-winning goal.
Ricci, though, proved that he is a genuine option for Spalletti at the base of a midfield three. He finished the game with a 92% pass completion rate, 59 completed in total, and had no real issues in lining up against Antoine Griezmann in France’s attacking midfield role.
For the most part, his long passing was great, too. His performance really kept Italy ticking in the middle of the park and came away with an average rating of 7 from the Italian media.
Playing like a dynamic quarter-back in front of the Italy back three, Ricci was intelligent with his passing, and showed no shyness in getting involved in breaking up France’s attacks either. La Gazzetta dello Sport said that he played “with the naturalness of a veteran.”
As both Jorginho and Bryan Cristanet faced criticism for their performances in the deep-lying midfield role for the Azzurri over the summer, Ricci has shown that he is a genuine, long-term option for that role moving forwards.
