Roberto Mancini, the coach of the Italy National Team, which will host Türkiye tomorrow in the 4th match of the 1st Group of the UEFA Nations A League, spoke at the press conference before the match.
"WE WILL HAVE CHANGES COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS MATCH"
Making evaluations at the press conference at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, Mancini stated that the ranking in the group is important but that they need to think match by match and said, "My players have really done their best so far and they will continue to do so. We played in Paris (against France) just 2 days ago. Of course, we will make some changes compared to the previous match." he said.
The Italian coach stated that he was very pleased with his team's performance so far and said, "But I think being in the same team in such a short time can be really tiring for the players. That's why we will continue to use rotation." he said.
Asked whether Türkiye will play tomorrow's match without Arda Güler and Barış Alper Yılmaz and whether this is an advantage for them, Mancini said: "I think Türkiye is a really good national team. It is a national team composed of really good players. I think (National Team Coach Vincenzo) Montella has taken very important steps, especially by succeeding in taking the team to the World Cup. But it is going through a difficult period right now. Especially when we look at this period, they are missing some important players." "They will come against us, but it will still be a difficult match." he replied.
"IT WOULD REALLY BE A MISTAKE TO UNDERESTIMATE Türkiye"
Mancini stated that they should approach tomorrow's match correctly and said, "The mistake that should not be made is to think that Türkiye is an easy opponent. We need to remember that Türkiye came from the defeat in Belgium. It would really be a mistake to underestimate them. Therefore, we should not think that this will simply be an easy match." made his assessment.
Mancini, who was reminded that he described Turkey as "a good team" and that they beat them 4-1 in the second match of the group, answered the question whether there was a change in his opinion as follows:
"I definitely haven't changed my mind. I really think that it is a team with players whose technical qualities are at a very high level. They are currently going through a period where things are not going well. I think they have had a great misfortune, especially in the World Cup."
BARELLA: IT WILL NOT BE AN EASY MATCH FOR US
Reminding that his Inter teammate Hakan Çalhanoğlu could not take part in the UEFA Nations A League matches due to his injury, Barella gave the following answer to the question "How does he see the star and crescent without Hakan?"
"Undoubtedly, Hakan is a really great player. I first met him as a rival and then as a teammate. He is a leading player. His teammates will feel the lack of his leadership. But of course, there are other quality players in Türkiye, but as you know, this is a team game. There are very high quality players in Türkiye who can also take on a leadership role. It will undoubtedly not be an easy match for us. Because Turkey will be injured, especially after its recent results. Therefore, they will want to show that they can do the opposite."
Meanwhile, in the statement made by the Italian Football Federation before the press conference, it was reported that striker Moise Kean, who did not participate in today's training due to pain, left the national team camp.
Italy and Türkiye will face each other in the UEFA Nations A League Group 1 tomorrow evening at the Renato Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna at 21.45 CET.
