Italy’s football team have also arrived in Paris, where, after all the medals won by the Italian athletes in the Olympic Games and Paralympics (President Gravina and National Team Delegation Head Buffon will visit Casa Italia in the evening, the Azzurri will take to the pitch at 20:45 CEST tomorrow. A medal won’t be at stake, but the result will matter. At the Parc des Princes, Italy will take on France with the aim of quickly overcoming the disappointment of their premature exit from the Euros and starting off on the right foot in the fourth edition of the UEFA Nations League. Precious points are at stake, also in terms of the FIFA ranking and being a seeded side for the World Cup qualifying draw.

“We need to show that we’re proud to wear this shirt after our poor showing at the Euros,” said Luciano Spalletti to Vivo Azzurro TV. “We needed to change a few things, which is what we’ve done in training, and now we need to replicate this during matches. We need to regain confidence in ourselves, and our fans also need to regain confidence in us. We’re beginning a new journey; from here on, we need to do something new. I’ve seen the players’ desire to hold firm and not carry regrets.”

WATCH OUT FOR COUNTER-ATTACKS. France are a tough side to face: Les Bleus finished runners-up at the last World Cup and will be in no mood to give any gifts away; the wound from their semi-final defeat to Spain at EURO 2024 is still fresh. Italy need to be at their best to come away from Paris with a positive result. The results from previous encounters don’t make for encouraging reading: the Azzurri haven’t beaten France for 16 years and have never won at the Parc des Princes, while the National Team’s last victory in Paris dates back to April 1954: “France have some fantastic players,” warned the Head Coach. “We need to be attentive tactically in order to play as a team. If they get space on the counter, it could be very dangerous for us. We’ll have some difficult moments and will only be able to overcome them by being a team.” Kylian Mbappé always poses a particular threat: “You mark him as a team, with the help of everyone.”

Spalletti is satisfied with the attitude the Azzurri have displayed during their training camp at Coverciano. “I’ve seen some great things in training: participation, willingness and confidence in what we’re aiming to do. These are very important values. The players have made me smile for the first time since the Euros. I’ve seen lads who possess the characteristics to become top players, but they need to gain experience. I’ve seen the confidence and conviction of wanting to play a match without being constrained by others.” In the evening, from the Parc des Princes press room, the Head Coach once again discussed what was missing at the Euros (“against Switzerland, we were also inferior to ourselves”) and took responsibility: “Perhaps I was too much of a pain. I was very human in believing in the possibility of achieving my results but perhaps unhuman in the method of pursuing them. When I said the players weren’t to blame, it’s what I think.”

DONNARUMMA ON HOME SOIL. Gigio Donnarumma produced many decisive saves at the Euros, but they weren’t enough to allow the National Team to progress beyond the round of 16. “I’ve seen a very united group in the past few days,” said the captain to Vivo Azzurro TV. “The new lads have settled in well. We want to get going again and show that we’re a great team; we’re not the team seen at the Euros. I’ve seen a team with the right motivation, and all the prerequisites are there to produce a great performance.”

The stats confirm that Donnarumma is increasingly the leader of this National Team. The player with the most Italy caps (66) in the group, he also leads the way in terms of all-time Nations League appearances (20). Furthermore, he’s the Azzurro who has played the most amount of minutes under Spalletti (1080’). Tomorrow evening, he’ll play at his home stadium and come up against a few teammates and a former teammate in Mbappé: “I said hello to them just now,” he said from the Parc des Princes press room. It’ll be a stimulating challenge to face them. We have an excellent relationship and are friends, but we’ll be rivals tomorrow. It’ll be a difficult match against strong and unpredictable opponents, but I can use my knowledge of them a bit. Paris is my second home, and it’ll be a special match.”

Spalletti described him as ‘the perfect captain’: “Being captain of the National Team is a source of pride. There must be a real sense of belonging and a strong sense of responsibility. That’s why I always try to give my all.” Donnarumma pointed out that he’s noticed a change in the Head Coach: “The coach is motivated. We’re all confident and happy about the fact that we’re continuing with him. He’s a coach who helps you grow. He lends you a hand and prepares in depth for matches. There’s definitely been a change in his approach; he’s been much calmer. However, in the end, we’re the ones who take to the pitch, and we need to give everything. Wearing the Italy shirt is special. Those who are not here would like to be here, and we have a duty to sweat for the shirt, to respect it and to honour it by coming off the pitch fully content in the knowledge that we’ve given 120%.”

Donnarumma also had a message for the Azzurri fans: “I expect a great welcome, just like we always receive wherever we play in the world. Italians always make themselves heard, and we’ll try to bring them joy. I hope they’ll be here in big numbers. We want to entertain them and make them proud.”

SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham);
Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Federico Gatti (Juventus), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham);
Midfielders: Marco Brescianini (Atalanta), Nicolò Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle);
Forwards: Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio).