In the round of 16 of the European Championship, Freuler scored the first goal, Vargas assisted and scored, and finally Italy lost to Switzerland 0-2, ending their campaign in the round of 16. After the match, Italy coach Spalletti gave an interview to the media.
Spalletti again tried to emphasize that Italy’s biggest problem is the lack of “rhythm and sharpness”, but after losing 0-2 to Switzerland at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, he will face many major problems.
Spalletti told RAI Sport: “Indeed, the goal we conceded at the beginning of the second half hit our confidence. Even when we were in their half, we weren’t sharp enough. The difference was the pace, we were slower than them in the first half. Even on an individual level, the pace of the movement and the confrontation was different.”
“Unfortunately, sharpness and pace made the difference. Last time I thought that if we gave them time to recover and changed a few players, they would be sharper. At the moment, due to too many reasons, we can’t do much more.”
“There is a long way to go, we will take it step by step, but it is clear that we need the team to have a higher pace. Even without talking about individual ability, we need more sacrifice, more consistently pressing opponents, getting back into formation, and applying pressure.”
In fact, after losing to Spain in the second round of the group stage, Spalletti made similar comments. Italy’s performance in the 2024 European Championship was disappointing throughout, first winning 2-1 against Albania, then losing 0-1 to Spain, but if it hadn’t been for Donnarumma’s excellent performance, Italy would have been beaten badly in that match. And their last match against Croatia was only a narrow draw, if it wasn’t for Zaccagni’s last-minute equalizer, they wouldn’t even have made it to the knockout stages.
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