Although his team is happy with a draw, the midfielder said Italy will try to win
Midfielder Italian national team Nicolo Barella – about preparing for the decisive confrontation against Ukrainian national team in the selection Euro 2024.
“Of course we will try to win. This will be another step towards increasing the confidence of the head coach. Of course, winning is not the same as drawing. At the end of the match we will see what we have learned and what we have achieved.”
“There was little time to recover, but I’m fine. I’m ready for tomorrow’s match. We are used to different fields, different stadiums. This question fades into the background. We will be focused on the game and ready for it. We need to defend the colors of our flag, so we strive to win.”
“When we play for the national team, we do everything that Mr. [Лучано Спаллетти]. Of course, at the Stadio Olimpico there were two goals scored against us [македонцы], did not cross out our desire for victory. I hope that my performance in the national team is a sign of trust from Mister.”
Let us remind you that in the first head-to-head match of Group C, which took place in September, the Italians beat Ukraine (2:1). Davide Frattesi scored a brace for Squadra Azzurra, while the now injured Andrei Yarmolenko scored a goal for the blue-and-yellows. Barella played 84 minutes in this match.
Barella, 26, took part in six of Squadra Azzurra’s seven matches in qualifying for the 2024 European Championship. In all cases, an Inter player was in the starting lineup. Gave three assists – two of them on November 17 in the match against North Macedonia (5:2).
After this victory, the Italian team scored 13 points and is in second place in Group C. Ukraine has the same number of points, but is inferior to Italy in additional indicators. To qualify for the Euro directly, Sergei Rebrov’s team needs to beat Squadra Azzurra with any score in a head-to-head match in the last round.
Ukraine will play against Italy on Monday, November 20, in Leverkusen (Germany) at the BayArena stadium. The meeting starts at 21:45 Kyiv time. For Barella, this match could become an anniversary match – his 50th as part of the national team.
The Ukraine-Italy match will be refereed by the Spanish team led by Jesus Gil Manzano. The Ukrainian anthem before the match will be performed by Sergei Ivanchuk, who miraculously survived enemy shelling in 2022.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
