It will be up to theItaly kick off the round of 16 of Euro2024 with the match scheduled for Saturday 29 June against Swiss at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Despite a group stage with more shadows than lights, Stephan El Shaarawy he believes: “We can get to the end”.
El Shaarawy on what he left behind from the match against Croatia
“It was a great emotion, a goal in the 97th minute gives you great joy, especially if it qualifies you – he declared in the press conference El Shaarawy -. That goal gave us the awareness that this team never dies. It may not have been an exceptional match from a quality point of view, but there was great effort from everyone.”
Can Italy go far? Here is the thought of Pharaoh
“If theItaly is it underestimated? They are on us high expectations and pressurebecause we are one strong team that can go all the way – says the Roma winger -. And this is a team made up above all of great men who know how to work as a team. We are a national team of great quality that can do well. We showed it in the first game, less so in the other two. But we can have our say: we must have the ambition to be protagonists in this European Championship”.
Between Spalletti and De Rossi: the blue and yellow-red ElSha
“Self Spalletti is he nervous? I see him loaded in the right way, demanding because he demands as much as he should be, and confident in the team and what we can give him” assures El Shaarawy. “The coach asks us to look for the dribble more than the verticalization and then go on the outside. With Croatia the wingers were always free and with one less pass we could have looked for them sooner.” He then adds: “I am always ready to do anything: during training the coach tested me in various areas of the pitch. We know that every minute we can be as decisive as it was Zaccagni with Croatia”. On the renewal of De Rossi with Roma: “I’m very happy, because we immediately got along well with Daniele. As a coach he has proven himself very competent and capablealso in the way he relates to the players.”
What Italy was missing in the last two matches
“Despite having tried to propose what the coach asks of us, i.e. very offensive football, we are we lacked a little in the courage and ambition to go and do harm – recognizes the Pharaoh -. But our team has quality and we need to improve.” Better with the 3 or 4 defense? Thus El Shaarawy: “Little changes for me. Being born as a winger I feel better in the 4-3-3, but rather than the formation we need to talk about how we approach the match. We can improve, regardless of the game system.” On the favorable scoreboard: “Even the smaller teams have shown that they are very organized and are able to give the favorites a hard time. There are no simple games, starting with the one with the Swiss. We play at a very high pace, we are ready to face any type of match.”
