Tonight in the USA, Spalletti’s Italy takes on Ecuador in a friendly: LIVE from 9pm.
Eve:
Time is running out for Italy now in view of the European Championship, and the coach knows it well. This is why Luciano Spalletti insists on one key: growing, and quickly. On the eve of the second friendly match in the United States, against Ecuador at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, the Tuscan coach has absorbed what he had to from the uninspiring match in Fort Lauderdale and expects to see something more, because, he says before the last training session “we have to reach a higher level, and we have to do it quickly – he declares -. We need to take a step forward compared to what we are now because we will need a higher level to face our opponents in the first few games that have touched us.” Venezuela and Ecuador, with all due respect, are not Albania, Spain and Croatia, which the Azzurri will face in order in Germany, and even if the attitude will inevitably change among the reigning European champions , the coach wants to see him immediately, in the match and on the training pitch, in the little time available to work. That’s also the problem, with many teams and their players busy on multiple fronts, in the most delicate moment of the season. “We have to follow a growth path – Spalletti continues -, but since we are not in a club, we have little time to work and deepen, so we need to make quick summaries. These matches are important, precious for a job that cannot be can do day by day.” A reasoning that the coach has insisted on since his sudden arrival in Coverciano. “I think we are on the right path – states Jorginho, the national team’s cornerstone -. On the mental front we need to improve but there are good guys here who only want the good of the team. We have to listen to what the coach asks of us, adapt to the situations and try to give the best for the team. Tomorrow will be another good test, we meet an experienced, high-level team that always plays in the World Cup but Venezuela is also not to be underestimated, they are doing very well.” The Arsenal player should start tomorrow in a lineup that will undergo changes compared to the one seen on Thursday. In fact, the coach has announced a large turnover – “there could be as many as nine changes”, he underlines – which will also involve Donnarumma, probably replaced by Vicario, and foresees a substantial contribution from Inter. Here then is a three-man defense with Darmian and Bastoni on either side of Mancini, then Dimarco on the left flank and Barella alongside Jorginho. Since Retegui has already responded very well, the striker will be Raspadori, assisted by Zaniolo and Pellegrini. Spalletti is keen to do well, tomorrow and beyond, also for “all the affection we are seeing towards us. Here we can see first-hand the love for our shirt, for our nation, in these people who are distant from us but give us this affection when we meet them. They certainly give us responsibilities but at the same time they fill us with strength.”
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