The defeat against England “could have been there” but now, against Malta, in the second qualifying match for Euro 2024, Roberto Mancini’s reigning champion Italy is already called for redemption. On paper, the opponent is well within the Azzurri’s reach, but the coach does not want any surprises starting from the second half of the match against England: “We have to win – he said in the press conference on the eve – but I feel absolutely no pressure. After many games against England could also have been a defeat. We know Malta and we know a bit about how they play and the difficulties we will find”. Mancini wants a “more precise and concentrated” team than the one he saw on the pitch in Naples: “I expect a difficult match, all of these matches are difficult and if you can’t unblock them, some difficulty will emerge. In the end, there are three points , beyond the value of the team”.
ANSA Agency
‘For me strong emotions, we’ll have to be good at managing them on the pitch’ (ANSA)
The coach announces news in the eleven that he will take on the pitch and doesn’t lean too much on the use or otherwise of the native Mateo Retegui, who scored in his debut against England: “We’ll change several players due to fatigue, but we have to evaluate them both today and tomorrow morning, let’s see how they are – he underlines – Retegui from 1′? He deserves confirmation but he too needs to be evaluated physically: he came from Argentina, many things need to be evaluated. We’ve been following him for a long time and perhaps we haven’t seen each other bad considering that several Italian clubs are also following him. He had difficulties on Thursday evening but then he scored a difficult goal, he can improve a lot in the coming months”.
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‘I’m happy for Verratti as captain and that he can represent Italy in this way’ (ANSA)
The coach then replies to Mario Balotelli who in the morning, via social media, had launched a sort of ‘message’ saying that “the strikers in Italy are there and they are in good shape, trust me”. “I’m glad that there are – Mancini’s answer – I don’t know what he’s referring to, but I love Mario too much, I hope he’s really fit”.
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‘Regret is the feeling of those who periodically do not learn a lesson’ (ANSA)
Going back to the match against Malta, Bryan Cristante is clear, we need a 100 per cent performance: “Malta is an organized national team – underlines the blue midfielder in the press conference – tomorrow’s match, like all matches, is difficult. We will have to take the field 100% %, concentrate and play our game. Winning is an obligation every game. We started with a defeat and we can no longer afford missteps. There is always pressure in the national team – he adds – every misstep pays off. We have to take the field to win, no ifs, ands or buts. We want to win.” Cristante also talks about the knockout with England: “We could have interpreted it differently, but in the second half we took the field differently and I honestly don’t see this big gap. We even risked equalizing it”, his words. Malta-Italy will be a particular challenge for the Italian Michele Marcolini, coach of the Maltese national team: “Italy will come here super aggressive, we hope they can leave us some space to exploit. I am happy with this adventure and the opportunity that has been given to me date”. “I’m going against the tide – says the Italian coach to Sky – I’m not so critical of Mancini’s Italy who, in my opinion, are doing a good job. It hurts not to do two World Cups, but the performances are there, the results come easily be pessimistic, but in my opinion he is doing well”.
Malta-Italy probable line-ups, second match of Euro 2024 qualifiers (group C)
Malta (3-4-3): Bonello; Apap, Borg, Attard; Mbong J., Guillaumier, Kristensen, Camenzuli; Teuma, Satariano, Mbong P. (Formosa C., Grech M., Brown J., Corbalan J., Dimech S., Jones J., Muscat N., Muscat Z., Nwoko K., Paiber B., Tabone L ., Yannick Y.) All. Marcolini.
Italy (4-3-3): Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Toloi, Romagnoli, Emerson Palmieri; Tonali, Jorginho, Verratti; Politano, Retegui, Pellegrini. (Meret, Falcone, Spinazzola, Darmian, Dimarco, Scalvini, Cristante, Frattesi, Pessina, Berardi, Church, Gnonto, Grifo, Pafundi, Scamacca) All. Mancini.
Referee: Georgi Kabakov (Bul) Quote Snai: 25; 9; 1.10.