Statements from Vincenzo Montella to La Gazzetta dello Sport

National Team Coach Vincenzo Montella made a statement to La Gazzetta dello Sport from the Italian press before the Nations League.

Touching on many issues from Türkiye's goal in the Nations League to the current situation of the national team, from young players to the future, Montella said that they want to compete with the best teams in Europe in the tournament.

Montella used the following statements in his statements:

"I would like to meet everyone, but except Italy, especially twice in a few days. I will be very excited, I know. But Turkey has a goal: to reach the quarter-finals of the Nations League, coming first or second..."

"YOU CANNOT LOSE EVEN A SINGLE MATCH"

"Italy has changed a lot, not only the manager. We also have a lot of young players in our squad and this is not a new situation: sometimes maybe the timing is a little early, but in this format you cannot lose a single match. Still, it is good that it is like this, all the matches are decisive. And for us, this is the first time we are in the A League in the Nations League: we want to compete with the best in Europe."

"WE ARE THE FOURTH POWER IN OUR GROUP"

"We are the newly rising team, we are the fourth power in our group. We will have to pave our way."

"THE QUALITY OF FRANCE CANNOT BE REACHED"

"France has a quality and player pool that other teams cannot match: only Spain and perhaps Portugal can compete with it. They lost in the semi-finals of the World Cup, but their opponent was Spain: their real disappointment lies elsewhere. With Zidane, they have regained enthusiasm. But it will not be easy for them either."

"I AM NOT LOOKING FOR EXCUSES"

Montella made the following evaluations regarding Türkiye's 2026 World Cup performance:

"Looking at the results, it definitely didn't go well. Looking at the performances, it could have been done better. We were a little unlucky, but I'm not looking for excuses. We should have been more effective in the goal areas to get at least one point in the first two games. We fell short in this regard."

"FEDERATION LOOKED TO THE FUTURE"

"However, they evaluated me not for those two matches, but for all my work. When I took office, we were not going to qualify for the European Championship, but we finished first in our group. We showed a great performance in the final round. We participated in the World Cup after twenty-four years. And we are in the Nations A League for the first time. I could have been dismissed, but the federation looked further, to the future.”

"SEVENTY YEARS LATER, WE WON IN GERMANY"

"We also had great results away from home, we won in Germany after seventy years. I was pleased. Maybe that's why they didn't replace me..."