Interviewed by Corriere della Sera, Blerim Dzemaili he spoke about his Switzerland, which will face Italy tomorrow afternoon at 6pm at the Olympiastadion in Berlin: “There is a defensive block that works well together, no one holds back. Then it has superior quality compared to the qualifiers, because it was missing Embolo: he keeps the ball, he lets his teammates play, he sacrifices a lot. It’s a team that you don’t really know how to face, he doesn’t give you points of reference, he knows how to defend and restart, but also keep the ball with Freuler and Xhaka who is the absolute leader. But the fundamental man is Ndoye: he is doing things that no one expected, he has also scored and this gives him even more confidence.”
Why has Switzerland reached the round of 16 at the World Cup three times in a row and Italy hasn’t?
“Because in Switzerland the youth teams always do well, there is talent. It is a construction that starts from the bottom and is the secret of Swiss football. Then to make the leap in quality you have to leave the country, but the foundations are very good. In my opinion, Italy hasn’t followed the youngsters well and this is serious. Why are there no more Del Pieros or Tottis? Having said that, you are still reigning champions.”
So Italy is the favorite?
“There’s no doubt about it, but he has to play like he did in the last 30 minutes against Croatia, with quality players and Scamacca who keeps the team going. The group wasn’t easy and Zaccagni’s goal could have unlocked the Azzurri.”
Who can make a difference?
“I expect much more from Chiesa, who made more shots in those 30 minutes than in two games. With the qualities he has, he shouldn’t be satisfied.”