Italy U21 are backing in qualifying action for Euro 2023 as they take on Montenegro at the Gradski Stadion in Podgorica tomorrow. The Azzurrini are currently second in the group but have two games in hand over leaders Sweden. Coach Paolo Nicolato is approaching this one with his usual philosophy. “Thinking about tomorrow’s game, the most important thing is to be patient but also look to kill off the game,” he said. “We must be prepared for it to be a scrappy game and put more balls into the box because we’re usually a team that prefers to play slick football. We also need to keep a balance at the back because they are dangerous on the counter.”

The Azzurrini’s coach is never one to beat around the bush: “The key to this game will be to attack with various different options because you can risk become predictable and easy to defend against, especially against teams that sit deep. At the same time, we need to stay solid at the back and try to go after the result too early because this will be a tough game.”

Nicolato is likely to go with his usual system tomorrow: “We have two different systems, one for the defence and one for the attack. After four months, in which we haven’t seen each other, it’s not wise to switch it up and, therefore, we’ll pick up right where we left off. We know our opponents quite well because we’ve had time to study them. They’re a compact side and have a real sense of team spirit and patriotism. They counter-attack really effectively and have some good strikers. They always want to put in a big performance, and what better occasion to do that than against Italy.

He then returned to the topic of the scarce amount of playing time for young players in Serie A and decried the idea that he could soon turn to those playing in the third tier. “I saw that some people didn’t like what I said; I didn’t intend to offend anyone and I didn’t want to create any issues. I’m not in the habit of criticising the work of others. I just table a discussion on safeguarding the sport that we love, which I believe is loved by all. I wanted to bring light to a topic that I think needs discussing until we can improve that situation. It’s not my opinion, it’s fact, and I feel a responsibility to not just turn my head.”