For Italy, EURO 2024 has reached its first crossroads. After an hour-long flight from Dortmund, the national team arrived in Leipzig yesterday, where the European champions will play their first 'in or out' match this evening. It will be enough not to lose to Croatia to secure second place in Group B: even though the players have recently rejected the idea of playing for a draw and coach Luciano Spalletti agrees with the idea, never mentioning the standings. "There are games that make your story small or big, and from this challenge here you have important results," said the coach, who defends the decisions made when putting together the call-up list. "Our decisions have been based on our conviction that we are dealing with strong players", he clarified. "When they went to the training camps, I could see their eagerness to participate and be there. This willingness and desire translates into being available to face the challenges that come with being a national team player". The blow of the defeat to Spain has been absorbed, not so much for the outcome as for the disparity in values seen on the pitch in Gelsenkirchen. "These days, I've observed behaviors that I like. I didn't enjoy the game against Spain, but we discussed it and realized that we had taken a step back compared to the previous few games. Despite the fact that we were in pain, I believe that game taught us a lot. I'm very pleased with what I see, and we didn't use platitudes when talking about a large group. This is a group that can be relied on for what happens during the day: availability on the field, taking charge of matters that do not just affect the individual player. I've been in situations like this before; the players are young, but I see the right attitude to go there, get things, and teach the lesson. Before Spain, we said things to each other that we couldn't show. Now we must prioritize facts over words".
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