Reminding that they will play play-offs for the Nations A League in March, National Football Team Coach Vincenzo Montella said, “Our goal is to get to the A League. We also have a World Cup goal. We also have players who will continue to improve in this process, and as they improve, we will be stronger.” ” he said.
The National Football Team, which played away against Montenegro in the 6th and last match of the UEFA Nations B League 4th Group, left the field defeated 3-1. Making evaluations at the press conference held after the match, Coach Vincenzo Montella said, “It was a football match in which little football was played. The field ground was really bad enough to not be played at this level. When you play at this level under these conditions, it is an unusual match. Our football players fought until the end, but we were more technical.” “We are a team with a high capacity, but since we were not as physical a team as them, we paid for it with scores on the field,” he said.
“As our players improve, we will become stronger”
Vincenzo Montella, when asked about his future, said, “I am happy and proud about our senior year. I can say this about our journey. Today, we could not display the technique we are used to, due to the field conditions. That is why such a result emerged. We will play in the play-offs in March, our goal is A.” “We also have a goal of getting to the League and the World Cup. We also have players who will continue to improve in this process, and as they improve, we will be stronger,” he said.
“There was no football match on the field today”
Montella, upon being reminded that the leadership was lost with the points lost in the last two matches, said, “The Wales match was perhaps one of the best matches we played so far. There were positions we found when we had the ball and when we did not, but we just could not score a goal. Maybe it was the best match we have played so far. There was no football match on the field today. The field conditions were unusual, and the opponent scored with every shot. We could not even get close to scoring in the most difficult moments. Despite the positions we created, it was an unusual match. I am more proud of my team today. “Of course we are sad, this was not the result we wanted. We went to the field for a different score, but we have players who are open to improvement until March, we will be better as they improve.”
“If we had chosen players with high physical strength, we would have gone beyond the ordinary.”
Speaking about his player choices against Montenegro, the Italian coach said, “There was no problem with Samet, we preferred Emirhan because we needed a left-footed player to establish play in a fictional sense. Most of our methods are based on technique, and our game setups are based on technical capacity. Today, he is more focused on physical strength.” “If we had preferred high players, our image would have been out of the ordinary. That’s why our choices were in this direction. If we had started only physically and lost, the question would have been the same,” he said.
“The opponent does not matter”
In response to a question about the possible opponents in the A League play-offs, Hungary, Serbia, Belgium and Scotland, Montella said: “The opponent is not important, we just have to lose our excitement, balance, desire, spirit and the love of our nation after a defeat. These are very many in football.” “It’s important balances. It doesn’t matter the opponent, we will continue to play our own football.”
“We have a very good group of football players”
Vincenzo Montella stated that they felt the absence of Hakan Çalhanoğlu and said, “How many players were on the field in Croatia compared to today’s 11? Unforeseen injuries and physical declines can happen in football. Being a national team coach is difficult due to such events, we always try to do our best.” I can say this about the national team, we have a generation that is destined to improve. They will improve, we already have a very good group of football players, we were in the B League before I came, we have had a very special journey, that’s why we continue to develop and grow. He concluded his words by saying, “We will do our best. Sometimes we rush too much because we love so much, we need to be careful, we need to proceed patiently, step by step.”
