From Wembley to San Siro, from the EURO 2020 semi-final to the Nations League semi. Three months on, the national team crosses paths with Spain once more, having beaten them on penalties in what was the most suffered success of the European triumph. Tomorrow (20:45 CEST Kick-Off; Refereed by the Russian Karasev), Italy will go in hunt for their 38th consecutive match without a loss, but above all in the hopes of reaching a new final, this time one that will be played in front of their fans, who responded to the call of the Azzurri as tickets have sold out at the Meazza (50% capacity, 37,000 tickets sold).

“We’re at 37 unbeaten games in a row - declared Roberto Mancini in today’s press conference - but we would like to go on like this until December 2022, even if Luis Enrique is right to say that sooner or later we will lose. In the meantime, we want to win tomorrow's game to advance to the final. We’re a great team, but we still have a lot of work to do to keep winning”. After the European Championship, it wouldn’t be so bad to immediately add another trophy to the cabinet: “The Nations League is a prestigious competition, certainly not an easy one to prepare for now during the season. The four best national teams in Europe will play each other, for us they will be two important fixtures in which to improve”.

Italy will find a depleted Spain, devoid of the likes of Morata, Dani Olmo, Pedri, and Jordi Alba, but still rich in talent and technique, and who will try to assert their indisputable dribbling skills to command the game, like at the European Championship: “Spain put us in difficulty with their possession, they have been doing it for 20 years and in this department, they are ahead of us”, admitted Mancini. “We have to improve this part of our game, be faster. We have 14 important months ahead of us and we must play better offensively while remaining balanced”.

The head coach has injuries to deal with himself, having to relinquish Immobile and the Atalantini Toloi and Pessina. Coming in in their place, therefore, is Kean, Calabria, and Federico Dimarco, the latter receiving his first call-up to the national team. Mancini himself had launched his professional career seven years ago, making him don the shirt of Inter, who are embracing him this year having found him stronger and more mature: “We have some problems, we’re missing the two centre forwards from the Euros. We have Kean and Raspadori and then a lot of other attacking players, so we'll see what the best solution will be. I gave Dimarco his debut in Serie A, I know him very well. I called him up because a few years have passed, and I was pleased to see him playing well”. Dimarco is not the only one to have proved himself at the start of the season: “The young players are doing well. Tonali, to mention one, is having a great season. There are others who are playing well and are with the Under 21s. While they are playing it is certainly a good thing, and the hope is that they will continue to play”.

It would have been one of the most anticipated duels, but Morata's injury blew up the in-match battle between Giorgio Chiellini and his clubmate Alvaro Morata, who was a protagonist at Wembley, for better or for worse, as he scored the goal to make it 1-1 before allowing himself to be hypnotised on penalties by Gigio Donnarumma: “The memory of the match against Spain at the European Championship is still imprinted in our heads and in our hearts” declared the Azzurri captain, who will make his 114th appearance for the national team tomorrow. “We will have to remain clear-headed from the very start of the match. We have great respect for Spain, we’ll need to be the better team at managing the various phases of the match”.

 

Chiellini has played lots of matches between Italy and Spain and has not always come off the field victorious: “The final in Kyiv is the match that evokes my worst memories, while the best ones come from the semi-final of the Euros. Where we dominated them the most was in the 2016 Euros. Among the Spanish players who I have always admired and have never hidden from is Sergio Ramos”. For his personality and physicality, there are those who define him 'the Ibrahimovic of the defenders': “Ibra is Ibra, he is such a tall entity so let's let him stay there. I’m enjoying this old age of football; I’m having fun and we’ll see where I will arrive with so many guys who provide me with energy”.

Echoing Donnarumma, the Juventus defender also condemned the racist chants of some Fiorentina fans towards Koulibaly: “It’s unacceptable. We need laws and rules that need to be applied, this is the most important thing. I was ashamed, as an Italian and as a Tuscan, also because for me, Italy is not a racist country. More must be done, otherwise we are just giving off a bad image of ourselves for those looking in from the outside”.

Squad List

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Emerson Palmieri (Lione);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo).

THE SCHEDULE (all times CEST)

Tuesday 5 October
15:45 – ITALY press conference (online/UEFA) at the Stadio Meazza in Milan
16:30 – ITALY training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes) at the Stadio Meazza
17:45 – SPAIN press conference (online/UEFA) at the Stadio Meazza
18:30 - SPAIN training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes) at the Stadio Meazza
Wednesday 6 October
20:45 – ITALY VS. SPAIN (UNL semi-final) at the Stadio Meazza in Milan. Followed by a press conference and transfer to Coverciano
Thursday 7 October
Time TBD – Training (closed)** at Covericano
Friday 8 October
Time TBD– Player press conference (online)* at Coverciano
Saturday 9 October
Time TBD – Transfer from Florence to X
Time TBD – ITALY press conference (online/UEFA)
Time TBD – ITALY training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Time TBD – X press conference
Time TBD – X training (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Sunday 10 October
ITALY VS. X. Followed by a press conference and a return to the respective clubs

*The media, broadcasters and photographers will not be present at the two sports centres: press conferences will take place via Zoom and it will be necessary to book a place via the FIGC Accreditations portal. In order to be granted access, you will need to register your name, surname and a photo.

**FIGC will distribute images of press conferences and training to photographers that possess accreditations for the match. FIGC will provide videos and distribute images relating to: i) Press conferences and ii) Daily training sessions. To activate the service please contact Massimiliano Reale (FIGC Area Sales): email: m.reale@figc.it Tel.: 06.8491.3023.