“It was a great emotion, also because it was the qualification, we were all really happy and it gave us confirmation that this team fights and never dies. Scoring goals in added time isn’t just luck but the demonstration that the team has the quality to believe in it until the end. Zaccagni’s goal was a great joy, coming at the end of a match that was perhaps not exceptional from a quality point of view like the one against Albania, but there was great commitment, we fought and I think the qualification is deserved“. Thus the Italian offensive winger Stephan El Shaarawyowned by Roma, expressed himself in a press conference three days before the round of 16 match between Spalletti’s Italy and Switzerland: “Are we underestimated? There is great expectation and pressure because we are a strong team that can go all the way. We are the reigning Champions. We have a great responsibility. But this team is made up of great men who know how to suffer and rejoice together, I think we are a national team of great quality that can do well. We showed it in the first match, in the other two we could have done better in terms of quality and courage, but it’s a team who can have his say and be a protagonist in this European Championship“, added Stephan El Shaarawy.
On his role in the national team
“What the coach asks of us is to try to phrase a lot, and then move on to the exteriors. Something we missed against Croatia, where the wingers were always free and with one less pass we could look for them immediately. But we always tried to do what the coach asked of us. I’m always ready to do a little bit of everything, in training the coach tried me as a full back on the left and right, fourth in midfield, fifth. I adapted to his needs, as I did in the past with Roma, but I know that even by playing little the players can be decisive. As it was in the last Zaccagni match. With my conscience I feel good because I’m working to make me available. When a player wears this shirt he wants to give his best. Sometimes you fall into the mistake of doing too much and perhaps lack clarity, but the work that the attackers did in the last match was very positive. From the point of view of commitment and availability, everything was there in all 3 matches, then obviously we can improve. Play 3? Whether it’s 3 or 4, for me it honestly makes little difference., in the sense that since I was born as a winger I definitely feel better in the 4-3-3. More than the form, I think we need to talk a little about how we approach the match, how we face it, how we take to the pitch, how we go one-on-one. In my opinion we can improve a lot in that. I see the coach as fired up in the right waydemanding because he demands a lot as he should be, I see him as positive and confident in our path and our team“, added El Shaarawy.
