Italy coach Antonio Conte stressed upon the importance of teamwork rather than focusing on missing individuals as his side take on Croatia in Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifying game at the San Siro.
The Azzurri head into Sunday’s game missing Mario Balotelli, Marco Verratti, Angelo Ogbonna, Alessio Romagnoli, and Andrea Pirlo, but the former Juventus coach has said that his side are prepared to take on the Vatreni.
“The team is prepared, I hope we play a great game regardless of who takes the field,” he said in the press conference. “Our priority is the team and not the individual.
“A lot of our players are out injured but we should not worry, we play the game with a system and the guys have shown lots of desire.
“On Sunday, we will have to take the field with desire and pride.”
Conte then went on to say that he has trained the side to deal with the threat of Croatia, as well as saying that his side should not fear anyone.
“We must not be afraid of anyone, but we should respect our opponents,” he said. “Croatia have talented players who are good in one on one situations so we must remain compact with and without the ball, it is something we have trained upon.”
Conte also took the time to speak about the injury of Mario Balotelli, saying that the Liverpool man suffered an inflammation in the groin.
“Balotelli had an inflammation in the groin which continued to trouble him,” he said. “So we decided it was best to send him back home.”
The former Juventus coach then wished that the condition of the San Siro pitch will improve after flash floods and torrential rains shut down the city of Milan and wrecked the field of play.
“We hope that the weather improves and the field is in good condition so we can show our best game,” he said.
Conte was then asked whether or not he was aiming to win Euro 2016, in which he said that the Azzurri’s aim should be to qualify for now.
“We must be very carefully, because we are coming off a disappointing World Cup,” he said. “That must not be forgotten, as it needs to give us the strength to push forward.
“Let’s take one step at a time, first let’s try to qualify.
“We need to remain focused and united and prove ourselves every game.”
Italy are currently joint leaders of Group H along with Croatia, having achieved a maximum nine points from three games.
