COUNTDOWN TO World Cup shame driving Italy’s rebirth
New boys must step up after qualifying debacle ITALY: THE LAST SIX RESULTS
LORENZO INSIGNE has told his Italy team-mates to stop dwelling on the misery of their World Cup disaster and focus on a rebuild.
That overhaul continues against England on Tuesday following the Azzurri’s failure to reach Russia back in November.
Manager Giampiero Ventura was axed in the fallout, with plans put in place to freshen up the squad with several new faces.
Luigi Di Biagio (right, top), the Under-21s boss, was put in temporary charge for the trip to England, which kicked-off with Friday’s clash with Argentina at the Etihad.
And even though it ended in a 2- 0 defeat, both midfielder Insigne and Di Biagio took positives from Italy’s display.
Insigne said: “We all know how the World Cup campaign ended, but if we focus only on the past, we’ll never move for- ward. dO Our dt duty i is t to work kh hard d and improve. Aside from the result against Argentina, we put in a good performance and can begin to move forward.”
Di Biagio believes his side can get something from their visit to Wembley after being encouraged by their performance against a Lionel Messi-less Argentina.
Dedication
He said: “I will ask for the team to show the same hard work and dedication they did on Friday, both in defence and attack.”
There are plenty of similarities between the once-great nations who will meet on Tuesday, with both keen for a return to past glories. And 20- year- old AC Milan striker Patrick Cutrone WCQ Sept 2017 WCQ Oct 2017 WCQ Oct 2017 WCQ Nov 2017 WCQ Nov 2017 Friend Mar 2018 Spain Italy Albania Sweden Italy Argentina 3-0 1-1 0-1 1-0 0-0 2-0 (right, ( i ht bottom), b tt )h who won hi his fi first t cap for Italy at the Etihad, is one of the youngsters to whom Italy are turning. “It will be a very miserable summer, we still cannot believe that we will not be at the World Cup,” said Cutrone.
“We are sorry as individuals and as a whole team. But Tuesday will be a great game, we will get ready as best we possibly can.
“We know England is very strong. They have started with the youngsters and we are starting to do the same.”
The similarities extend to the two men in charge, with both having worked with their U-21s before taking charge of the senior team.
Just as Gareth Southgate missed a penalty for his nation at a major tournament, so, too did Di Biagio, Italy Macedonia Italy Italy Sweden Italy as It Italy l crashed hd out t of f th the 1998 World Cup after his spot-kick r attled t he France crossbar. Cutrone added: “I worked with Mr Di Biagio in the U-21s and I know him well. “He demands the maximum work from the team and he is a great coach. He wants us to do things the proper way, to work a lot and the games are prepared very skilfully.” Cutrone also paid tribute to veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Leonardo Bonucci. He said: “Gigi is a champion. He is a great inspiration and he leads by his experience. Leo, we play together at Milan a lot, and he gives me lots of advice.” Two of Cutrone’s Milan games came against Arsenal recently, when Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere helped knock them out of the Europa League. Cutrone said: “It was an absolute experience in the cup games, hugely emotional for me.”