Locatelli's brace, Immobile's late strike, fans going wild in the stands. Tomorrow it would be nice to relive the emotions of our match against Switzerland last June, when at the Olimpico in Rome, the National team beat Switzerland 3-0 in the second match of the group stages. A victory that was an early sign of the glory that was in store at the European Championships. Five months ago, by beating the Swiss, Italy secured their place in the round of 16 of EURO 2020. Tomorrow (20:45 CET), the Azzurri have the opportunity to book their ticket to the World Cup. A win is vital and would mean that only one point is also needed from the last match of the round against Northern Ireland, to book our place in Qatar. A draw would delay everything until Monday, with the Azzurri having a +2 goal difference to defend. A defeat, on the other hand, would almost certainly lead to the play-off route for qualification. A path that cost us so dearly four years ago.

After calling it “the most important match of the year”, Roberto Mancini urged for calm, approaching the match ahead with his usual composure. Although he has the utmost respect for Switzerland and their quality, the Azzurri are aware of their calibre: “The boys are calm, but also have their eyes on the prize,” he reiterated at the press conference on the eve of the match. “They know that to win they have to be at their best, without getting distracted by everything that’s riding on this match. I don’t think it helps to be anxious before a game. You should be happy before going out there onto the pitch because playing football for your country is the highest honour.”

The Azzurri have faced Switzerland more than any other side (60 matches, with 29 wins, 23 draws and only 8 losses), and are in action in the city that has hosted the most Azzurri matches (62). Here, the National Team can write another important page in the history books. In doing so they will finally be able to close a haunting chapter, putting to bed the memories of failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia: “Tomorrow will be a difficult match, Switzerland have been playing excellent football for several years now. We have to go out there and play our style of football, we know our strengths. This team still has room for improvement and can get even better between now and the World Cup.”

The coach will have to deal with several absences, as the injuries to Spinazzola and Verratti have been compounded in the last three days by the loss of Pellegrini, Zaniolo and Ciro Immobile. The injury to the Lazio frontman, who has been the most prolific Italian striker this season, with 15 goals so far, has forced Mancini to re-evaluate his offensive trio, with Belotti likely to come into the starting line-up: “We all feel bad for Immobile and Chiellini, but it’s the same for all the national teams, injuries are to be expected at this stage of the season. I’ve kept an eye on Il Gallo, physically he won’t be 100% because he’s coming back from a serious injury. Maybe he doesn’t have 90 minutes in the tank, but if he could score in the first 60 or 65 minutes then it won’t matter. Barella? He’s fine, he trained yesterday, and I think he could play tomorrow.” Switzerland will also have to make do without several key players, including their captain Xhaka as well as Embolo, Elvedi, Fassnacht and Zuber: “I don’t know if they will change formation, but we know they will be a difficult team to play against.”

In a match that is virtually a ‘play-off’, Italy will have the home advantage. Five months ago, the Olimpico was restricted to only 25% of its total capacity, whereas tomorrow there will be 52,000 fans in the stands, ready to get behind the Azzurri and push them towards that place at the World Cup: “The Olimpico will give us the upper hand, playing here is always a privilege. We played three matches here during the EUROS and the crowd were always right behind us. Tomorrow, I have no doubts that it will be the same, the pitch is looking good too. it will be a great spectacle.”

Leonardo Bonucci will return to the heart of the defence tomorrow, having been suspended in the Nations League semi-final against Belgium on October 10. This suspension came after a run of 12 consecutive appearances and a successful European Championship. However, he will not have his long-time companion Giorgio Chiellini by his side at the back, after he was forced to pull out of the squad with an injury yesterday. In their 17 matches played together under Mancini's management, Italy have never lost (10 wins and 7 draws), a stat that confirms the strength of the partnership: "We’re feeling good, tomorrow we need to give it our all and then we can start thinking about finishing it off on Monday”, said the Juventus defender. The fans are important, they will do their part to help us through any difficult moments. We all hope we can be celebrating with them by the end of the night.

Squad list

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lyon), Gianluca Mancini (Roma);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Tommaso Pobega (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Milan);
Strikers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

 

Schedule (all times CET unless stated otherwise)

Thursday 11 November
12:00 – Press conference at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, ITALY (access for journalists)
18:30 – Training at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, ITALY (first 15 minutes open to the media)
16:00 – Press conference at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Switzerland (access for journalists)
17:00 – Training at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Switzerland (first 15 minutes open to the media)
Friday 12 November
20:45 – ITALY vs. Switzerland. Post-match press conference and return to hotel to follow
Saturday 13 November
15:00 – Training at the Acqua Acetosa Olympic Training Centre in Rome (behind closed doors)
Sunday 14 November
10:30 – Transfer from Rome to Belfast
11:30 l.t Training, Northern Ireland (first 15 minutes open to the press)
13:00 l.t – Press conference, Northern Ireland ***(access for journalists)
17:30 l.t – Press conference, ITALY ***(access for journalists)
18:00 l.t – Training ITALY ***(first 15 minutes open to the media)
Monday 15 November
19:45 l.t – Northern Ireland vs. ITALY. Followed by post-match press conference and return to respective clubs

*Depending on capacity, journalists and photographers will be granted access to the press conference and the first 15 minutes of the team’s training session on Monday 8 November
**Only journalists will have access to successive press conferences at Coverciano, with the remaining training sessions taking place behind closed doors. TV operators will not be granted access. The FIGC will produce and distribute images relating to press conferences and training sessions to relevant parties upon request. For more info: Massimiliano Reale (FIGC Area Sales): email: m.reale@figcit. Tel: 06/84913023.
***The press conferences in Belfast will be reserved for eight media outlets. A Zoom link will be provided for accredited journalists to follow the conference.