Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina: Spalletti’s press conference live

End of Vicario and Spalletti’s presser. Italy will train in 5 mins here at Coverciano, stay tuned!

“I think that like all things, it must be made when there is a chance to create an advantageous situation. In many situations, it’s a chance to create a numerical advantage with the goalkeeper. Of course, I can’t dribble as Chiesa does, but when I have the ball as a goalkeeper, I must know that another teammate will be free to receive it. It’s been a big change for me as well, but I am glad to learn it because a little risk can bring a big advantage sometimes.”

“I think we are ready for the Euros, but we can always improve obviously. We are here to work every day to try to get as close as possible to perfection and be effective. We have great guidance, we are humble and ambitious because we want to learn, but we know we are not inferior to anyone.”

“Football [in the Premier League] is less tactical and more physical. It’s part of a growing process that I wanted to do. It’s part of the experience that an athlete must put in his career, so I am happy with the decision I made last summer.”

On young players not going outside Italy: “Probably sometimes dealing with a different language and a different culture can cause problems. But I believe it’s worth it in footballing terms but also for personal life. It helps you open your eyes and leave the comfort zone, improving confidence.”

“The coach takes decisions, I am ready for everything, whether I play or not. As an athlete, I must be ambitious. What we all want is the national team’s good. Everyone can be helpful in many aspects.

“It’s thrilling to return to the Castellani with the national team. It will be a great moment for me, for the family and for the Empoli fans who will be at the stadium. Surely it’s a huge thing for me. It’s the team that gave me a real chance to show my worth and fulfil my dream of playing with Tottenham in the Premier League. I earned experience at Empoli, and they were crazy enough to give me a chance, so I’ll always be grateful to them.”

“I liked [Fagioli]. He needs playing time and he will start with Jorginho tomorrow. We must be technically strong if we want to attract opponents. If we are too stretched it’s more difficult to dictate the play. We must have a united block and possibly manage the ball and choose which part of the pitch we want to do it.

“We will do a couple more tests and then make our assessments.”

“When I started my coaching career I had the ambition to enter a Serie A dressing room, but to imagine that I would experience a moment like this was impossible at that moment. As I said before, we all have the future in front of us. It’s all about the decisions, the humility and the courage. Being presumptuous is not ok, but to overestimate the opponents is even worse.”

“We must improve when we have the ball in their half and make sure we defend properly; otherwise, something we don’t like will happen. We also need more quality in attack. We should not wait and move beyond their defensive line. Floating close to the defenders is what they like the most so we must create the spaces that will make them struggle.”

“Lorenzo Pellegrini can wear the No.10 because of his quality. He knows how to float in the spaces, he knows how to take free kicks and penalties. He has the feet to put that sweet ball in little space. He sees beyond the first pass. He has all these things.

“Barella is close to an N.10 even if he runs a lot. This makes him even stronger. We have what we need in that position on the pitch.”

“Empoli? I’ve bought all the tickets. I will feel at home tomorrow because I experienced great moments there. I spent all my childhood there. I coached the youth teams, the first teams, and all the divisions. It was an amazing experience that gives me great emotion. It will be as thrilling as a Euro game.”

“Yes”

“We will never be calm, wearing the Italy shirt, so we must aspire to a lot. Sometimes games make you struggle, but we must prove that we are able to take on this responsibility. We work seriously and we aim to the top. We know where we come from. Surely, the best thing is not to tell these guys that the only way to wear this shirt proudly is to win. When I arrived, there was an open wound. We want to grow, but we start from a non-qualification to the World Cup. We want to work seriously and we don’t want to hack ourselves. We have a strong team. I didn’t choose them; they deserved to be selected. They were the best so they deserved it.”

Drop four-man defence? “No, Cambiaso, Chiesa and Pellegrini can play as right wingers.”

“I expect to put into practice the analysis we made after the [Turkey] game. There was time to try certain things, so I expect them to do better. Scamacca will start.”

We’ve been optimistic since the first moment because he’s always been under control. He can’t be considered for the Empoli game, but we are confident for Albania. Same as Meret.

Spalletti is here.

Press conference will begin at 16:45 CET.