Italy Must Do Better – Spalletti After Turkey Draw
Roberto Mancini’s assistant, Daniele De Rossi, has urged Italy to improve after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Turkey in a friendly in Konya on Tuesday. Former Italy captain De Rossi is deputizing for the absent Mancini, who is self-isolating after contracting COVID-19, and was frustrated by his team’s performance. “The result is not what we wanted,” he said. “We have to improve a lot. We had some chances but we didn’t score. We have to work on our finishing.” Italy had taken an early lead through Giacomo Raspadori but Turkey hit back with three goals in quick succession from Cengiz Under, Serdar Dursun, and Halil Dervisoglu. Alessandro Bastoni pulled one back for Italy before half-time and Lorenzo Pellegrini equalized with 20 minutes remaining. “We conceded three goals from our mistakes,” said De Rossi. “We have to be more careful in defense. We have to work on our concentration.” Italy have now won just one of their last six games and will need to improve if they are to challenge for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. “We have a lot of work to do,” said De Rossi. “We need to improve our quality and our mentality. We have to be more determined and more focused. We have to be ready for the World Cup.” The draw with Turkey was Italy’s last game before they face North Macedonia in the World Cup play-offs in March. De Rossi is confident that Italy will be ready for the challenge. “We have a strong team,” he said. “We have a lot of quality. We just need to find our best form. We are confident that we can qualify for the World Cup.”
Italy Must Improve After Turkey Draw, Says Spalletti
Italy manager Roberto Mancini has called for his team to raise their performance level following a disappointing 3-3 draw against Turkey in a friendly match. The Azzurri were twice in front but were pegged back each time, with Turkey eventually snatching a draw through a late Cengiz Under penalty. “We have to do better in all areas,” Spalletti said after the match. “We need to be more clinical in front of goal, more solid at the back, and more creative in midfield.” “We’re not playing with the same intensity or quality that we showed in qualifying for the World Cup,” he added. “We need to find that again if we want to be successful in Qatar.” Italy will have another chance to impress when they host Argentina in a friendly on Wednesday. It will be a tough test but one that Spalletti believes his team can pass if they can improve their overall performance.