Luciano Spallettiselector Italy, admitted yesterday that his team needs to improve “to think big” in the Euro Cup and expressed his hope that this will happen now in the round of 16, when direct elimination matches begin and there are no more “second chances .” .” This Saturday the face of the ‘azzurri’ Switzerland.
“Now we will play for free. We had a difficult group where we knew it would be difficult to qualify. The pressure increased. Now it’s useless to do math. “Only winning is worth it and that will free the players,” he said. Spalletti at a press conference held in Berlin.
“Until now, we have not shown the best of ourselves except for a few moments. We saved ourselves in the last minute against Croatia in the last minute. However, I think the classification is fair, now we have to be more consistent in our performance because there is no second chance,” said Spalletti.
About Switzerland, Spalletti He warned that it was difficult to fight and was well positioned in the field to fight and recalled the hardships he went through. Germany in the last game of the group stage.
“This is a disciplined team that pushes very high and has great players in its ranks (Granite) Xhaka. “It is not just any team, it is a rival that cannot be underestimated,” said the coach of Italy.
Spalletti was asked if Berlin’s Olympiastadion, where Italy were crowned world champions in 2006, provides extra motivation.
Spalletti He also said: “We have that final in mind. Gianluigi Buffon (goalkeeper of that team) was with us and told us about that game. This is a great motivation but also a great responsibility. We need to live those memories,”
Another motivating factor is the desire for revenge. Italy after a 1-1 match Switzerland in the qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which ended up condemning the ‘azzurri’ to the play-offs, where they lost against North Macedonia and were left without going to the World Cup event. “It is another factor. But motivation must be measured. It is important that the players keep in mind what they should do this Saturday in every situation,” he said. Spalletti.
Spalletti declared that in place of Riccardo Calafiori, suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards, will play Gianluca Mancini. In addition to Calafiori, will cause sick leave, Federico Dimarco.
Italy He practiced penalty shots. All players have tried them but, according to Spalletti, tried to make the team not think too much about it. “If you think too much about the penalty shootout, you start thinking. And we have to go out and win the game,” he said.
Source: La Verdad
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