From the Coverciano press room, Luciano Spalletti presented Italy’s next two matches: Thursday in Brussels against Belgium, Sunday at San Siro against France (the last of the Nations League group stage). Many topics were touched upon in the conference by the Italian technical commissioner, including Ricci’s forced withdrawal which leaves room for Locatelli: “There are data that go beyond those known to everyone, i.e. the risk indices and encompass all the things that they happen during the match. It’s true, we shot much more on goal and were much more at the edge of the opponent’s area than our rivals. Another very important fact is the re-attacks and the winning of the second ball, a different figure compared to the European Championship. Now we have to do it again and it’s never easy because we have really strong opponents. They told me that only 2-3 could play in the national games and the opponents were surprised by our games after the final whistle. … Ricci goes home because we started this relationship with the clubs and if a player risks getting hurt we don’t bring him back. It would have been very difficult to get him back for the first match, then he would have had to grit his teeth. We need two midfielders for the first match and so he goes home and another one comes. Who in his place? Locatelli”.
One point is enough for you, aren’t you afraid that the team will relax?
“The first thing to do is not to think like this… We have to evaluate who we have in front of us: Belgium is ahead of us in the Ranking and with players who play in the most important European clubs. In France they say that only a couple of our players could playing there. If someone relaxes, it’s better to go home. They are two very difficult games and presumption is the first thing we have to fight. Now we have a perfect group: as I know them, there will be little to say about these guys here “.
Read coach Luciano Spalletti’s full press conference here
THE LIST OF CALLED PEOPLE
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Pietro Comuzzo (Fiorentina), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Nicolò Savona (Juventus), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Nicolò Rovella (Lazio), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Attackers: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta).
*CLASSIFICATION
Italy 10 points, France 9, Belgium 4, Israel 0
*The first two classified will qualify for the quarter-finals. The third-placed team will play a playoff against relegation with one of the runners-up from League B, while the fourth-placed team in the group will be relegated to League B.