At the press conference before the European Championship round of 16 match between Switzerland and Italy, one coach played with open cards, the other did not.
Hopefully this is not a bad omen for the European Championship round of 16 against Italy: The trip to Berlin on Friday evening was anything but smooth for the national team. After an IT glitch at the Skyguide air traffic control service, no planes could take off from Zurich for 90 minutes – including the charter that was supposed to pick up the Swiss in Stuttgart. The national team therefore only arrived in Berlin 30 minutes late.
Neither goalie Yann Sommer nor coach Murat Yakin showed any signs of fatigue at the media conference in the belly of the Olympic Stadium. Rather, the duo exuded confidence and good humor: “I wouldn’t say that Switzerland are the favorites. Italy are the reigning European champions and have also been world champions, which says a lot about their quality,” said Sommer with a grin about the starting position.
Old system, new offensive
In Italian football, defensive work is always the trump card: Despite this, the “Squadra Azzurra” appears to be facing a problem in defence: With Riccardo Calafiori (suspended) and Federico Dimarco (injured), two pillars will definitely be missing for the match against Switzerland. In addition, Andrea Bastoni, who has had a fever in recent days, will not be available until the match day. Perhaps this is also why Luciano Spalletti is returning to his tried and tested back four and abandoning the experiment with the back three from the match against Croatia.
Bryan Cristante is expected to be used in midfield, which is a surprise. The Roman is expected to play a similar role to Scotland’s Scott McTominay, who (effectively) disrupted Granit Xhaka’s circles. Thanks to the system adjustment, there is also room again on the right wing for the most dangerous Italian, Federico Chiesa. On the other hand, there is speculation about Stephan El Shaarawy.
Nati coach Yakin, on the other hand, is in the comfortable position of not having to change much. “Apart from the suspension of Silvan Widmer, all players are on board. No one is sick or injured,” he explained. Two variants were practiced in training: one with 1:1 substitute Leonidas Stergiou, he did not want to reveal the other: “Maybe Leonidas is a good variant, but maybe the other is better.”
Motivation for the European champion – but not too much
Italy does not necessarily need motivation in the round of 16: Nevertheless, “Mister” Spalletti spoke in training about both the 2006 World Cup final, the last appearance of the “Squadra Azzurra” in Berlin, and missing out on the 2022 World Cup. At that time, Italy did not win either of the two duels with Switzerland, finished in second place and was then eliminated in the playoffs against North Macedonia. “But constantly giving motivational speeches can also backfire,” so he did not overdo it, Spalletti announced.
Penalty shootouts were also practiced in the Italian camp – and for good reason: all previous knockout games at European Championship finals involving Switzerland went to penalties.
- In the round of 16 in 2016 they were defeated by Poland.
- In 2021, they first eliminated France, but then lost to Spain in the quarterfinals.
Star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma strengthened the confidence of his teammates in a special way: “I let a few of them in during training so that they wouldn’t be depressed.”
Antipode Sommer also has fond memories of penalties – especially Italian ones – as he twice beat Jorginho in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers (the veteran missed once). Spalletti probably doesn’t have to worry about that this time. The Arsenal star is likely to sit on the bench at least at the start.