The Azzurri coach after the draw with Ukraine, which secured the qualification to the Euro 2024: ‘We played a good game. But the match became too scrappy and physical by the end.’
All smiles for Luciano Spalletti after the draw in Leverkusen against Ukraine, securing Italy’s qualification for Euro 2024: ‘To reach this it wasn’t easy at all, and it wasn’t a given that we would qualify, as nothing is in football nor in life – were the first words of the Azzurri coach to the Rai microphones.
“We played a good game in the first half, we had many chances to open the result, but not being able to do so made the match become scrappy and very physical by the end. It was no longer much about playing football, it was more of a battle; they showed they were equipped and gave us a hard time.’
Spalletti experienced anxiety towards the end, as the qualification was hanging in the balance. “These are situations I know very well; I was born and raised with these tensions. I immediately went into the locker room to greet my collaborators, the staff, and the federation president. We all cared a lot about this result. Now let’s go and defend our trophy in Germany…”
