Luciano Spalletti blasts critics as Italy scrape through in Euro 2024

LEIPZIG – Italy coach Luciano Spalletti lashed out at critics after his team drew 1-1 against Croatia in Leipzig on June 24 to reach the last 16 of Euro 2024.

Only a brilliant 98th-minute goal from Lazio winger Mattia Zaccagni sent the Azzurri through as Group B runners-up behind Spain, leaving the Croats third and on the verge of elimination.

The Italians had scraped a 2-1 win over Albania in their opener and were then outplayed by Spain in a 1-0 defeat, performances that were not convincing considering that they are the defending champions.

“Everybody is trying to get us out (of the tournament),” Spalletti said. “But if I were afraid, I would have done another job.

“There’s no point in being afraid. I don’t want to be more concerned than I need to be or load up additional pressure that people are putting on my shoulders.

“There’s venom coming from all sides and I inject myself with this venom.”

The 65-year-old was also angered by players reportedly leaking information to the media, with the news that Italy would line up in a 3-5-2 formation coming out ahead of the game.

“This is a weakness of those who are leaking things. If there are people who are leaking things, then it hurts the national team,” he said.

On the football itself, Spalletti insisted his team deserved to progress but also admonished them for aspects of their display, with Italy seemingly content to play for the draw, before Luka Modric’s opener in the 55th minute.

“Psychologically, sometimes these things can happen... when you can afford to draw the game,” he said.

“You do things in a slightly more timid way – we were giving them chances, I don’t know why that happened.

“But it was hard to make it through this group. When you drop below the minimum standards like in the first half, it is because we feel the pressure, otherwise it is not possible (to play so poorly).”

Italy will face Switzerland in the last 16 in Berlin on June 29. Croatia need several results to go their way to be able to progress as one of the four best third-place teams.

Spalletti is looking forward to the clash with the Swiss, and suggested that his team needed to improve physically if they are aiming to progress far in the tournament.

“Whenever there is a challenge or a 50-50, we don’t win any,” he lamented.

“It is not a technical question, it comes down to experience, getting into these physical challenges and being willing to do the dirty work. We need to improve on that score.”

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, meanwhile, was disappointed with the result, saying that the length of added time was “a nonsense”, following Zaccagni’s strike in the eighth and final minute of injury time.

He claimed bigger nations would not have had to get through so much stoppage time, if they were in Croatia’s situation.

“It was the eight minutes of added time at the end, but you know, with Fifa and Uefa... We’re a small country and no one gives us any thought, so we have to stand up for ourselves,” he said.

“Eight minutes was a nonsense. You can’t have eight minutes after that game.”

Dalic, who led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final and the 2023 Nations League final, also seemed to have accepted that his side will not make it through after collecting just two points.

“It really hurts. It still hurts and it will still hurt over the coming days and months,” he added.

“It’s not easy, but when we look at the situation in general, there are some days it’s your day and some days it’s not. That’s football.” AFP, REUTERS