Nicolato: ‘Italy U21 will suffer against Sweden’
Italy’s U21 coach Paolo Nicolato admits that Azzurrini “will suffer” against Sweden tomorrow: “It is a decisive match.”
Azzurrini will host Sweden at Monza’s U Power Stadium on Tuesday 12 October at 4.30 pm British time.
The Scandinavians are Group F leaders in the European qualifiers but have a game in hand.
Earlier last week, Italy beat Bosnia 2-1 with two assists from Milan star Sandro Tonali.
“The game against Sweden will be decisive,” Nicolato said at his pre-match press conference, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have to pay a lot of attention defensively, these games will make us grow. Sweden will have an offensive mentality and will try to keep the ball possession.
“They will make us suffer, we have learned that at this level we can not take anything for granted.”
Samuele Ricci and Sebastiano Esposito are unavailable due to injuries, while Pisa striker Lorenzo Lucca is in doubt.
The 21-year-old has scored six goals in seven Serie B matches and has been linked with a move to Milan.
“He had some physical problems, he trained separately yesterday. It is not easy or competitive because he only played 5-6 matches in Serie B and is not used to the international context, says Nicolato.
“Emotionally, it’s not an easy time for him, because he has attracted so much attention.”