Luciano Spalletti said he was finally able to ‘smile again’ after the EURO 2024 debacle, seeing the right Italy attitude preparing for France and Israel.
The Azzurri crashed out of the tournament in the Round of 16 against Switzerland, so are getting geared up for the Nations League.
They visit France tomorrow in Paris, then take on Israel on neutral turf in Budapest on Monday.
“After three days of training, these lads allowed me to smile again – in football terms – for the first time since the Euros,” the coach told RAI Sport and Sky Sport Italia.
“I saw good things, like tempo, passion, availability, feeling at one with the football. This is the key to getting things back on track.”
The Nazionale reached the Final Four in the last two editions of the Nations League, but those were both under Roberto Mancini’s guidance.
“We cannot afford to underestimate anything, especially after the bad impression we made in the Euros,” shrugged Spalletti.
“There are some things we need to change, including restoring the confidence we lost in ourselves.”
The Italy side flies out for Paris today and could not hope to start the Nations League fixtures with a tougher game.
“We have to face them as a team, tactically, because their counter-attacks can be very dangerous for us. How do you mark Kylian Mbappe? As a team. It is one of their characteristics, they make you think that you are in control of the match, then these long runs behind the line of the defence are difficult to mark.
“It is a match against an opponent of the highest level, but in football you can level out the playing field with passion and hard work,” continued Spalletti.
“I want to see those characteristics that we need to make up for the difference in individual quality that our opponents might have more than us.
“To those who start or those who come off the bench, they must all be ready with two or three alternatives. I see a lot of quality throughout the group.”
There had been some fitness doubts going into the match, but the coach confirmed that Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni has fully recovered from a muscular issue and is ready to start.
“We talked too much before the Euros, we need to not send messages with words, but to show people what we can do.”
