Dublin, 11 November. – (Adnkronos) – Two months of work, played in four European qualifiers, three wins and a draw, a path that was difficult for a completely new team, built around a small group of “veterans”, but filled with many newcomers. Great expectations. The new two-year period comes just three months after being knocked out in the quarter-finals of the European Championship against Portugal, the time to turn the page and open another chapter.

From the start, coach Paulo Niccolto asked for time and patience for a team that knew each other and, above all, many players with little international experience. Today, on the eve of Azzurrini’s crucial match against the Republic of Ireland at the Talgt Stadium in Dublin (live on Rai2 TV, 6.30pm) tomorrow, the federal coach said, “We look forward to the big steps ahead and we are optimistic about the performance.” Well trained, we hope to continue the attack.

The goal is to bring home a great success to increase the pace from the followers (Ireland and Montenegro at seven), it does not need to be underlined, but above all, to overtake Sweden by one point. One more run. “We try to put bricks after bricks, while retaining the previous ones, trying to fix what we did well and add more. Obviously the encounter depends on the opponent, and for my team I am happy with how the boys train and participate in team activities. The first message of his army was not to underestimate the opponent. “Ireland are a very competitive team at home and we have to have the ability to play a dirty game that is not in our core traits but a team that wants to bring out their standards. But this time we need an aggressive and intense run. We have in mind what to do. ”