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Now, onto today's issue.

Coming back from a 3-0 halftime deficit is tough to do, not least in the cauldron that is Dortmund's Westfalenstadion, with its steep inclines and walls of supporters who seem to hang over every action there. But the effort didn't really achieve anything. Italy still lost to Germany 5-4 on aggregate, showing yet again it isn't quite where it should be. Germany hasn't had much success either in recent years but has at least followed some kind of upward trajectory, taking eventual champion Spain to extra time in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals. Now it's in the Nations League semifinals.

Italy, in stark contrast, can't win more than a couple of games in a row or stem the endless flow of goals at the back. It neither plays with a particular style or play nor achieves consistent results. Head coach Luciano Spalletti can't resist the temptation to chop and change his lineup. It hasn't felt like Italy has been on any kind of trajectory at all. It just feels like the national team has floated from one game to the next, showing fight when it can, frustrating those who look on with hope, but otherwise treating the neutral to a spectacle with its volatile play. Italy has kept just one clean sheet in its last 12 matches and most certainly doesn't look capable of keeping any in the near future.

The one thing you can bet on is a goal off a set piece: Nine of the last 11 goals the Azzurri have conceded have come off corner kicks, free kicks, and penalties. It's an alarming statistic for a national team that once made defending an art form. Now it struggles to stay concentrated on the simplest of routine plays.

Instead of getting into position and proper defensive shape, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his defenders squabbled as Joshua Kimmich quickly took a corner. Jamal Musiala already had the ball in the net by the time they realized what was happening. The play summed up the damaging lack of leadership that exists in this team, and Spalletti seemed to suggest afterward that his players weren't listening to him.

"We knew Germany took corners like that. If we can't manage to understand that, it's better to concede goals," Spalletti fumed. "Maybe then they'll understand that these aren't just my words but facts."

But it's also Spalletti's problem to solve. If his players aren't executing on set pieces, he has to find a better way to communicate the game plan. He obviously can't legislate for individual mistakes or a loss of concentration, but he can help his players create strong enough defensive patterns that they stick.

The concerning thing is that he has capable defenders back there. Alessandro Bastoni and Alessandro Buongiorno are usually excellent at reading the game but have struggled in Spalletti's back three. Buongiorno in particular has had to cover much more ground for Italy, and he ended up conceding a penalty against Germany because his starting position was much wider than usual. If he wasn't covering for Destiny Udogie, Buongiorno, an immaculate tackler whose sense of timing usually prevents him from getting into such compromising positions, would've been in lockstep with the runner.

There are also problems in midfield. Germany had a grand old time playing through the middle on Sunday. The issue with playing three box-to-box, high-energy midfielders at the same time is that they leave space behind. As they all look to attack the ball carrier, they often leave no one but the defenders to sweep up. That, in turn, forces them to scramble. The area has become a real soft spot for Italy, revealing another imbalance that Spalletti must solve.

Then there's the question of personnel. Spalletti has made a number of surprising and regrettable choices. He's opted for players like Daniel Maldini who don't necessarily start for their clubs instead of game-ready outfielders like Riccardo Orsolini who can attack spaces and make things happen. Maldini can ball out and pull off some impressive moves in tight spaces but too often zones out in the middle of games. Others like center-back Federico Gatti have shown they're not up to snuff. And yet they not only get selected but picked to start in big matches. Spalletti has done a lot of this kind of tinkering since replacing Roberto Mancini last year and angered a lot of people when he dropped Mattia Zacagni, the only reason Italy even made the round of 16 at the European Championships, for Stephan El Shaarawy in the 2-0 loss to Switzerland. The coach has wasted full-blown halves with questionable experiments and has been forced to repair them at halftime.

The time for experiments is now over. The Azzurri have World Cup qualifying on the horizon and can't possibly miss out on another tournament. Erling Haaland's Norway will fight for top spot in this qualifying group. It's not at all a freebie. Italy needs results. Its best players have to show up, and Spalletti has to select the best possible squad, not just his favourites, which he seems to have done a little too often in his first year in charge.