Speaking on the eve of the match against Spain, the national coach Luciano Spalletti illustrated the game plan for tomorrow’s match: “We will try to play the game and we need to be good at knowing when to make changes of speed to bring home the advantage we gained with the start of the action, then when he arrives in front of the goalkeeper we are already at checkers. Then we also have to score goals, but the tranquility of almost always being able to score goals is difficult because we always have to talk about emotions, opportunities and courage. We go to make a correct analysis and then to try to put the simplicity of the execution in place, when we are there, it is the simplest thing and must be treated as a simple thing, otherwise it will further increase the emotion that the boys have in playing this match.”
It’s the eleventh time that Spain meets Italy in a major tournament, the fifth time since 2008. Is it a derby for you?
“No, it’s not a derby. For me they are all derbies: when I play a European Championship they are all finals, all derbies, all matches that will never happen to me again. I give them the maximum attention. We will try to repeat the same match played with Albania, we want to compete against a strong team to see our level of football against one of the strongest there is. We have always tried to do this, even against strong teams in the qualifiers It’s about ball possession, if you give the ball to your opponents you’ll come out of this match badly. We’ll try to play our game and see if we’re that good or not against one of the most recognizable teams.”
Reread the full press conference by Luciano Spallettitechnical commissioner of Italy