Sergio Busquets admits Italy ‘deserved to win’ UEFA EURO 2020 and it’s ‘an honour’ to face them in the Nations League, but Spain want the victory this time.
The semi-final kicks off at San Siro on Wednesday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT), while Belgium and France face off in Turin on Thursday.
“It’s wonderful to be here, as there are four fantastic teams and this is an opportunity for us,” said Sergio Busquets in his press conference.
“There are top quality opponents, Italy are reigning Champions of Europe and we will try to play the way we did in the Euros, hoping this time we reach the final.”
When these sides met in July at Wembley, they could only be separated by a penalty shoot-out.
“We must be proud that we’re in these Nations League finals, but not stop here, as we always aim higher. It’s a new tournament and we will try to hurt Italy with our strengths and our philosophy. We deserve to be here and now we want to beat Italy to reach the final.”
It won’t be easy, as Italy are unbeaten in a world record 37 competitive matches.
“Italy have great players with a lot of experience, they deserved to win the Euros and have continued with this approach. It is an honour for me to face such a strong team,” continued Busquets.
“I think Spain played well recently and we stuck with our identity. You can’t always win, but the team is doing well and people were very happy during the Euros.”
🗣️ @5sergiob: “Tener grandes jugadores no te asegura nada, pero Italia también los tiene”.
➡️ “El equipo ha mejorado muchísimo, su Eurocopa fue muy buena y ellos van a seguir igual. Va a ser un partido muy disputado y muy difícil”.#VamosEspaña #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/Th6gQoiAnx
— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) October 5, 2021
Mr. Mancini is correct. The Spanish remain the best team to play possession futball. This game is impossible to predict and anyone who tries to do so proves not to know much about this sport of futball.