It will be a less beautiful Italy, but with more substance Luciano Spalletti he wants to see against Croatia, with some changes compared to the starting eleven lined up against both Albania and Spain. On the eve of the match that will seal the fate of his national team at the European Football Championships in Germany, the Italian coach outlines the path to follow to ensure that the history of the match tonight in Leipzig yes colors of blue: «We will also change some team attitudes, we also need resilience. Will we try to have more substance, perhaps less beauty but more substance – assures El Shaarawy – between the changes? Everything is possible. There is always a complete reasoning to be done in this team. Dimarco has recovered and is available, everything suggests that he will be available, then tomorrow we will make a trip to the doctor.”
Certainly, “this group can be trusted”, the summary of the coach after the bad blow of the defeat against Spain. A team that will take the field at the Leipzig Stadium which, according to what transpired from training in the morning in Iserlohn, could see a 4-man defense with Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori and Darmian, with the latter therefore in place of Dimarco, recovered but not at his best. In front from the 1st minute, the Genoan Retegui is on the launching pad to replace Scamacca, while in midfield the option Cristante remains and the one called Cambiaso steps up. All for a 4-1-4-1 that becomes 3-4-2-1 depending on the situation with Jorginho behind Cambiaso-Cristante-Barella and Chiesa. «It’s clear that after a match like the one against Spain the idea of changing something is there, perhaps I was wrong not to change before – explains Spalletti – Now that something has been noticed, a bit of effort and rust, something will definitely change. Brozovic and Perisic? Everything can affect Croatia, they have everything, a lot of experience and even a few years.
We’ll see if we’re more ready to show off our freshness. We have to take them on their liveliness and intensity, they are two great people and footballers.” Still on the subject of changes, Spalletti makes it clear that he will hardly give up Jorginho and Di Lorenzo despite their horror performance against the Red Furies: «Jorginho probably didn’t play against Spain his best game but it’s also partly my fault. He is a leader and has great qualities that others don’t have, he tells others what to do. We always focus on him a lot. He is like a son to me and I always struggle to leave out someone with his characteristics. I am convinced of his value as a player and as a person. One understands the other’s intentions perfectly.”
And regarding Dimarco’s condition, the Italian coach sees him as available for tomorrow: «He has recovered from his injury. He will have to do further tests but he should be available tomorrow against Croatia.” Among the Azzurri to talk about the match against Croatia is Alessandro Bastoni who dispels any hypothesis of fear: «I don’t like to associate fear with football, fear can be associated with more important things such as illnesses. There is great respect and I think that the defeat against Spain has united us even more, when you lose the true value of the man comes out and we want to demonstrate it tomorrow evening. With Spain – concludes the Italian defender – we lacked self-esteem, we needed the defeat and we’ll show it tomorrow. «Calafiori? I feel comfortable with him, he has enormous quality and is not afraid to play the ball. I hope that this affinity will be completed over time.” Even this evening, a clear prevalence of opposing fans is expected in the stands: in a stadium with a capacity of 38,000 seats, UEFA’s forecast is 25,000 Croatian fans and 10,000 Azzurri fans.
In the event of second place, Italy would play against Switzerland on Saturday 29 June in Dortmund at 6pm.