Luciano Spalletti praised the “mental strength” of Italy, which came back from conceding a goal after 14 seconds to beat France 3-1 in the Nations League in Paris. “Sandro Tonali was great.”
It was the worst start to an Azzurri game ever: the goal came after a record-breaking 14 seconds, when Bradley Barcola stole the pass from the distracted Giovanni Di Lorenzo and thus had a clear path to the goal.
But Federico Dimarco’s simply magnificent equaliser heralded the comeback and gave the Italians the much-needed confidence that gave them a 3-1 win in Paris thanks to goals from Davide Frattesi and Giacomo Raspadori.
“That was the key to the game. They reacted immediately, tried to relax the team and then played the game they wanted to play. That’s why I praise them twice,” Spalletti told RAI Sport.
“It’s never too much, there’s always the opportunity to do something better. It was important to be a team.”
For the first goal, Di Lorenzo was caught in possession of the ball, which led to a series of truly banal errors in the simplest of passes.
“The tension was so great that even the smallest situation could trigger madness, that’s how it works in our football. Mental strength is crucial because you’re afraid you won’t be able to do something, but we have to get that under control within ourselves.”
“We have selected a group of players who are always in the game. They are a little fresher than at the end of last season. We were probably lucky to find a group of young players who are eager to prove themselves. Individual desire and passion are the key to any success.”
Spalletti welcomes Tonali on comeback
Newcastle United midfielder Tonali made his comeback for the Italian side after a ten-month layoff for breaching betting regulations.
“His performance was great. We were worried he wouldn’t last 90 minutes, but in the last five minutes he sprinted down the flank and came towards the goal all by himself,” smiled Spalletti.
“We have rediscovered a fantastic player.”
In the other match in this group, Belgium beat Israel 3-1 and Italy will face Israel on neutral ground in Budapest on Monday evening.
The Nazionale has already made it to the Final Four of the Nations League twice and with this result is well on its way to doing so again.
