Sunday, May 28, 2023
Germany Latest News
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe
No Result
View All Result
Germany Latest News

Italy’s plan for Sweden in WCup playoff: ‘Play like Italy’

by The Editor
November 6, 2017
in Sports
0
Italy’s plan for Sweden in WCup playoff: ‘Play like Italy’

ROME (AP) Italy has a straightforward plan to avoid missing its first World Cup in six decades – just play its usual game in the playoff against Sweden.

After all, Italy has gone unbeaten against Sweden in their last five meetings and won four of the encounters, including 1-0 last year at the European Championship.

Perhaps making matters less complicated, standout striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from Sweden duty after Euro 2016.

”They’re four-fifths the same squad. They play the same. They’re physical and well organized. It’s part of their DNA,” Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura said on Monday.

”But the real problem isn’t what Sweden does. It’s what we do. Italy has to play like Italy. We’ve always been there when there’s something important to play for.”

A four-time champion, Italy has participated in every World Cup since failing to qualify for the 1958 tournament, which coincidentally was held in Sweden.

The last major competitions Italy missed were the 1984 and 1992 European Championships.

”Nobody has even considered not going,” Ventura said at the Azzurri’s Coverciano training complex in Florence.

But Italy has showed poor form recently, ever since a 3-0 loss to Spain in September that virtually sealed its fate as the second-place finisher in its qualifying group.

After the Spain match, Italy narrowly edged Israel 1-0 at home, drew with Macedonia 1-1 at home, and won in Albania 1-0.

With his job on the line, though, Ventura would gladly accept two more narrow wins.

”In Spain or England when you win playing poorly they fire the coach. In Italy, results count more than anything,” said the 69-year-old journeyman coach, who never managed a major club before being called in as a replacement when Antonio Conte left the national team for Chelsea after Euro 2016.

”It’s a big moment for me but also for the players,” Ventura added. ”Going or not going to a World Cup means something. For some it’s the beginning of a cycle, for others it’s a matter of finishing in a certain manner.”

Captain Gianluigi Buffon made his first appearance for Italy in a World Cup playoff against Russia on a snowy pitch in 1997. Having announced he plans to retire from the national team, the playoff could mark his final international matches.

In one of the four European playoffs, Italy travels to Stockholm for the opening leg on Friday. The return match will be at Milan’s San Siro Stadium three days later.

In qualifying, Ventura relied on Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile – two players he previously coached at Torino – for goals. But there are questions over their fitness.

Belotti, who scored 26 goals with Torino in Serie A last season, appears to be at only 60-70 percent capacity as he works his way back from a right knee injury. Immobile leads the Italian league with 14 goals in 11 matches this season but recently strained a leg muscle.

On the positive side, Simone Zaza was recalled after scoring eight goals in his last seven league games for Valencia; wingers Antonio Candreva, Lorenzo Insigne and Stephan El Shaarawy are also in top form; and key midfielders Marco Verratti and Daniele De Rossi return after missing the final two qualifiers through injury.

Mario Balotelli, meanwhile, hasn’t played for Italy since the Azzurri’s first-round elimination from the 2014 World Cup. He remains out of the squad.

While Sweden didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups, it impressed in qualifying with a win over France and finished ahead of the Netherlands in its group.

”We are winners just by being here,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said.

Sweden went unbeaten at home in qualifying at Friends Arena and striker Marcus Berg scored eight times in nine matches

”If we can play at that level, we can beat any team in the world – including Italy,” Andersson added.

Ventura called up an expanded 27-man squad to allow room for injuries and suspensions in the 72 hours between the two games. Four players – Giorgio Chiellini, Marco Parolo, Verratti and Immobile – are in danger of missing the second leg if they pick up another yellow card.

More than 65,000 tickets have been sold for the game at the San Siro.

”We can’t disappoint them,” Ventura said of the fans. ”And we can’t disappoint Italy.”

—

Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Original Article

Fox Sports

Related posts

Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

May 27, 2023
Gold for Brazil and Mongolia on Day Three at Judo World Championships in Tashkent Access to the comments

Gold for Brazil and Mongolia on Day Three at Judo World Championships in Tashkent Access to the comments

October 8, 2022

ROME (AP) Italy has a straightforward plan to avoid missing its first World Cup in six decades – just play its usual game in the playoff against Sweden.

After all, Italy has gone unbeaten against Sweden in their last five meetings and won four of the encounters, including 1-0 last year at the European Championship.

Perhaps making matters less complicated, standout striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from Sweden duty after Euro 2016.

”They’re four-fifths the same squad. They play the same. They’re physical and well organized. It’s part of their DNA,” Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura said on Monday.

”But the real problem isn’t what Sweden does. It’s what we do. Italy has to play like Italy. We’ve always been there when there’s something important to play for.”

A four-time champion, Italy has participated in every World Cup since failing to qualify for the 1958 tournament, which coincidentally was held in Sweden.

The last major competitions Italy missed were the 1984 and 1992 European Championships.

”Nobody has even considered not going,” Ventura said at the Azzurri’s Coverciano training complex in Florence.

But Italy has showed poor form recently, ever since a 3-0 loss to Spain in September that virtually sealed its fate as the second-place finisher in its qualifying group.

After the Spain match, Italy narrowly edged Israel 1-0 at home, drew with Macedonia 1-1 at home, and won in Albania 1-0.

With his job on the line, though, Ventura would gladly accept two more narrow wins.

”In Spain or England when you win playing poorly they fire the coach. In Italy, results count more than anything,” said the 69-year-old journeyman coach, who never managed a major club before being called in as a replacement when Antonio Conte left the national team for Chelsea after Euro 2016.

”It’s a big moment for me but also for the players,” Ventura added. ”Going or not going to a World Cup means something. For some it’s the beginning of a cycle, for others it’s a matter of finishing in a certain manner.”

Captain Gianluigi Buffon made his first appearance for Italy in a World Cup playoff against Russia on a snowy pitch in 1997. Having announced he plans to retire from the national team, the playoff could mark his final international matches.

In one of the four European playoffs, Italy travels to Stockholm for the opening leg on Friday. The return match will be at Milan’s San Siro Stadium three days later.

In qualifying, Ventura relied on Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile – two players he previously coached at Torino – for goals. But there are questions over their fitness.

Belotti, who scored 26 goals with Torino in Serie A last season, appears to be at only 60-70 percent capacity as he works his way back from a right knee injury. Immobile leads the Italian league with 14 goals in 11 matches this season but recently strained a leg muscle.

On the positive side, Simone Zaza was recalled after scoring eight goals in his last seven league games for Valencia; wingers Antonio Candreva, Lorenzo Insigne and Stephan El Shaarawy are also in top form; and key midfielders Marco Verratti and Daniele De Rossi return after missing the final two qualifiers through injury.

Mario Balotelli, meanwhile, hasn’t played for Italy since the Azzurri’s first-round elimination from the 2014 World Cup. He remains out of the squad.

While Sweden didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups, it impressed in qualifying with a win over France and finished ahead of the Netherlands in its group.

”We are winners just by being here,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said.

Sweden went unbeaten at home in qualifying at Friends Arena and striker Marcus Berg scored eight times in nine matches

”If we can play at that level, we can beat any team in the world – including Italy,” Andersson added.

Ventura called up an expanded 27-man squad to allow room for injuries and suspensions in the 72 hours between the two games. Four players – Giorgio Chiellini, Marco Parolo, Verratti and Immobile – are in danger of missing the second leg if they pick up another yellow card.

More than 65,000 tickets have been sold for the game at the San Siro.

”We can’t disappoint them,” Ventura said of the fans. ”And we can’t disappoint Italy.”

—

Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Original Article

Fox Sports

Previous Post

Tennis organizers apologize for draw ceremony with models

Next Post

Martin O’Neill hopeful Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick will be fit for World Cup play-off against Denmark

Next Post
Martin O’Neill hopeful Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick will be fit for World Cup play-off against Denmark

Martin O'Neill hopeful Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick will be fit for World Cup play-off against Denmark

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

UK suicide rate shows largest drop for 20 years

UK suicide rate shows largest drop for 20 years

5 years ago
Pub giant Marston’s has signed a deal with a leading US craft brewer

Pub giant Marston’s has signed a deal with a leading US craft brewer

5 years ago
Macron: Coronavirus vaccine not before end of 2021

Macron: Coronavirus vaccine not before end of 2021

3 years ago
F1 to stop using ‘grid girls’ for the 2018 season

F1 to stop using ‘grid girls’ for the 2018 season

5 years ago

FOLLOW US

  • 123 Followers
  • 87.2k Followers
  • 189k Subscribers

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death
  • Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’
  • European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage
  • Bola Tinubu inauguration: The five tests awaiting Nigeria’s new president
  • Asiana Airlines: Passenger arrested for opening plane door during South Korea flight

Categories

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Tags

2018 League Bali United Beijing BlackBerry Brazil Broja Budget Travel Bundesliga California Champions League Chelsea China Chopper Bike Coronavirus COVID COVID-19 Crime Doctor Terawan EU France French German Istana Negara Italy Kazakhstan Market Stories Mexico National Exam Nigeria Omicron Pakistan Police protests Qatar Ronaldo Russia Smart Voting Sweden TikTok Trump UK Ukraine US vaccine Visit Bali
Germany’s slipped into recession and everyone should be worried
latest news

Germany’s slipped into recession and everyone should be worried

by The Editor
May 27, 2023
0

FRANKFURT ― Not so long ago, Germany was Europe's powerhouse: wealthy, booming, politically strong. But the mighty have fallen. And...

Read more

Recent News

  • Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death
  • Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’
  • European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage

Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Health
  • latest news
  • Latin America
  • Life Style
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Uncategorized
  • USA

Recent News

Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death

Man indicted on murder charge in rapper Takeoff’s shooting death

May 27, 2023
Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

Vinicius Jr. case mirrors Spain’s racism ‘problem’

May 27, 2023
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Sports
  • USA
  • Asia
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Latin America
  • Africa
  • Europe

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.