Italy, with Northern Ireland second to last called. Now you can’t fail anymore

Two matches to bring Italy back to World Cup after 12 years and to cancel the painful absences at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022: this evening, Thursday 26 Marchat 8.45pm in Bergamo the Azzurri will face theNorthern Ireland in the first playoff towards the World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico. In case of victory we will go to next Tuesday’s decisive match against the winner between Bosnia and Wales. “For seven months, that is, from the first day of my experience as technical commissioner“he said Rino Gattuso in the press conference, “there isn’t a time except before I go to sleep or in the morning as soon as I wake up that I don’t think about the fact that we have to go to the World Cup. This will be the most important match of my career but I’m prepared and I’m not thinking about what can happen if it goes wrong.”

Il technical commissioner he invited us to think “positively and big”: “We’ll play it and then we’ll see. In a race like this we need to experiencebut above all to know suffer thanks to what they do well. What to say to Italians on the eve? It’s up to us: if we stay on track and know how to stay on the pitch, it will be a consequence and we will drag the Italians to the stadium and in front of the TV.”

We are creators of our destiny

“We are creators of our destiny and we must have awareness in our means”, insisted the CT“we have to be good at being found ready physically and mentally. It is right that our adversaries say that we are in crisis and we must not be surprised. I didn’t need to watch past play-offs because I have them in my head. In football it also takes a bit of fortuna: against Switzerland, in 2022, if Jorginho Had he scored the penalty, Italy would not have gone to the play-offs which they then lost to Macedonia.”

No past, focus on Northern Ireland

“Now let’s not look at the two World Cup for which we have not qualified: nothing past, let’s think about Northern Ireland and a match that we must prepare both at tactical is mental“. To the players “I will simply repeat that you have to enter the field without it underestimate your opponent“, he added, “They are Ireland and they have come this far because they have the poison inside: for them the first and last ball are like… the last ball of their life. We will have to have the same ones as them motivationsfight back blow for blow”.

Updates on injuries and training

The coach then took stock of the injured: “Mancini, Politano and Calafiori have nothing and are available. The only ones to evaluate are Bastoni and Scamacca, the others are all available.” Training? “I don’t think about the second match and the choices are easy because there are substitutions and for 30-35 minutes Moises, Mateo and Pio can change the match at any moment. We have four strong attackersincluding Raspadori”.

The team’s penalty taker

Gattuso explained that “the rigorist it’s Retegui” but everyone tried penalties.

The economic importance of qualification

The qualification for the World Cup would be fruitful FIGC, 20 million euros of takings without calculating the subsequent rounds: the possible round of 32, a not impossible goal in the group with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland, would bring other 2 million prize. But above all it would dissolve the nightmare of a third World by spectators.