Luxembourg vs Italy Prediction: The kids are alright as Bandini looks to the future

Italy travel to Luxembourg for an international friendly (19:45 BST) with a host of fresh faces in the team. After failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, head coach Gennaro Gattuso resigned. His short-term replacement is caretaker boss Silvio Baldini, a well-travelled ex-manager of multiple Italian clubs. Baldini was promoted from the under-21s and, in the spirit of his ascension, he has called up 19 new faces into the Italy squad.

Read on for my Luxembourg vs Italy predictions as a youthful Azzurri embark on a new era.

Team News

Gianluigi Donnarumma is the only truly experienced face in this much-changed Italy squad. The Manchester City shot-stopper has 81 Azzurri caps. The player with the second-most appearances in the squad is Pio Esposito with seven.

The only caps across the remaining squad are two each for Marco Palestra and Niccolo Pisilli.

Football Odds

That means an international bow for Luca Koleosho, who spent last season on loan at Paris FC from Burnley. A possible Italy debut for Borussia Dortmund’s Filippo Mane, who has played just four games for his club. An appearance for Roma winger Luigi Cherubini could be in the offing, after 35 Serie B games for Sampdoria.

It is a bold strategy, and one unlikely to persist when a new permanent head coach arrives. But Baldini is going with what he knows, having been promoted from the under-21s for this temporary assignment.

Luxembourg are missing Benfica midfielder Leandro Barreiro but otherwise have a full complement to pick from.

Luxembourg vs Italy Odds

Italy are priced at 2/5 to win, despite their young cohort. The hosts are 6/1 while the draw is priced at 16/5.

Draw @ 16/5

A bold one, but with good reason. Italy’s failure to qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup has been seismic. With Gattuso gone and fingers pointed, caretaker Baldini has gone with what he knows. The bulk of this squad has represented his under-21 side.

But Luxembourg are fully-fledged, experienced players. While Italy boast wonderkids and future stars, their hosts have as more lived-in appeal.

Christopher Martins has 81 Spartak Moscow games under his belt. Laurent Jans is a centurion for Beveren. Danel Sinani is at St Pauli via Norwich City and Wigan Athletic. They might not be playing for Roma or Dortmund but they are playing a damn sight more than their opponents.

Quality can trump experience, but with the mood on the floor, I don’t see Italy summoning a confidence-building win here. 

Both teams to score @ 11/10

Luxembourg are uncharacteristically riding back-to-back clean sheets. Before that, they’d conceded in each of their last six outings. Given the fact those clean sheets both came against Malta, I’m backing Italy’s bold future to find a breakthrough.

But I do think the experience and wiles of the hosts will see them hit the scoresheet too, taking advantage of an undercooked Italy back line. Chalk up a goal or two each.