Italy come into their Euro 2020 last-16 clash with Switzerland with the firm intention of playing football more befitting their rank.
‘We are now at the heart of the competition. This should stimulate us,’ hopes his coach Luciano Spalletti.
The ‘Mister’ will have to compensate on Saturday for the absence of his two ‘Swiss’, the former Basel player Riccardo Calafiori who is suspended and the former Sedun player Federico Dimarco who is injured. ‘We didn’t play as I could have hoped during the group stage, regrets the Italian coach. But in the end, we qualified. At the last second of course. But in a deserved way.’
Luciano Spalletti is fully aware of Switzerland’s value. ‘They qualified with authority. They played a great match against Germany. They are very strong in transitions. Very strong also on a physical level,’ he explained in a press conference. ‘Against Switzerland, we will not be able to afford to suffer the same drops in tension as during the group stage.’
Donnarumma vs. Sommer
The Italians have, of course, worked on the penalties just in case… ‘But getting to the penalties will not be ideal, assures Luciano Spalletti. We will have to do everything to win first.’ The Mister, however, knows perfectly well that Italy won the final of the 2006 World Cup in this same Berlin stadium in this very special exercise. The final of the last Euro as well. And that the presence in the cage of Gianluigi Donnarumma gives the Azzurri a major advantage.
As we know, this Switzerland – Italy will also be a goalkeepers’ match, Donnarumma against Yann Sommer. ‘I know Sommer well because he works at Inter with Gianluca Spinelli who was my coach at PSG. He really had a great season at Inter,’ underlines Gianluigi Donnarumma. ‘Sommer is a great goalkeeper! We’ll have to be very strong to beat him on Saturday.’
The captain of the Squadra, who does not want to enter into the game of comparisons to the question of whether he is better than the Basel player, drops a clue on the procedure to follow to beat Switzerland. ‘We conceded too many chances in the group stage, far too many,’ he said. On Saturday, we must not concede a goal, nor make the slightest mistake.’ We understood the message: this Switzerland – Italy risks being a very close match.
/ATS
