The last effort before the party. Italy is preparing for the second match of its European Championship (15 pm) with the awareness of being close to qualifying, obviously Ibrahimovic permitting. In fact, between the Azzurri and the pass for the round of 12 (mathematical in case of victory) there is the Sweden of the phenomenon Zlatan, determined to give us another displeasure after that of 18 years ago. On 2004 June 2000 it was his back-heel that ousted us, together with the famous Danish "biscuit", from the European Championship in Portugal, a precedent that is also worrying because Italy, historically, has always struggled in the second group match. From 2 to today we have only managed to win it once (0-2000 against Belgium in 5), against 2 draws and 2014 defeats (the last one in XNUMX against Costa Rica). Unhappy courses and courses that must make us keep the "antennas" straight: the praise of the last few days, in fact, could take away some of that fundamental competitive fury against Belgium. “I have a concentrated and determined group at my disposal, I'm sure that the attitude will not have changed – glossed over Antonio Conte. – We have to keep our feet on the ground, for now we are not even qualified for the round of XNUMX ”. So head to Sweden and that victory that would send us beyond the group, without calculations of any kind. In fact, the paradox is that finishing first could "give us" a very heavy eighth against Spain or Croatia, while second place would give us a much softer match with Group F (that of Hungary, Iceland, Portugal and Austria). However, it is useless to make these arguments with Antonio Conte, especially on the eve of a decisive match like today's.
The coach has only Sweden in mind, whose resources, according to him, go far beyond Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “He is their star and he can shift the balance at any moment but they also have other qualities – he explained at the press conference. – We will have to keep an eye on different situations, they are a very square team. But we are ready, we have prepared the game well to limit their strengths”. Conte, aware that a victory would then make the match against Ireland useless, should almost entirely confirm the formation already seen against Belgium, apart from the disappointing Darmian. The blue 3-5-2 will therefore see Buffon in goal, Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini in defence, Candreva, Parolo, De Rossi, Giaccarini and De Sciglio (favorite over Florenzi) in midfield, Eder and Pellè in attack. “Italy made a good impression on me, maybe they won't have the stars of the past but they're still strong and competitive – explained Swedish coach Erik Hamren. – Let's use our heads before running, we will have to have more desire and hunger than them, as well as being perfect tactically. Ibra? I see him focused." Attention, ça va sans dire, is all focused on Zlatan and his talent, an essential element for Swedish qualification hopes. For the rest, Hamren will focus on a compact and square 4-4-2, with Isaksson in goal, Lustig, Lindelof, Granqvist and Olsson in defense, Larsson, Kallstrom, Ekdal and Erkan Zengin in midfield, Guidetti in attack.
