Giovanni Di Lorenzo said Italy ‘can’t wait to get started’ against Spain in the EURO 2024 showdown and confirms Luciano Spalletti wants ‘courage to play the ball.’
It kicks off at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
Both sides won their opening games in EURO 2024, but with Albania and Croatia drawing 2-2, this evening’s victor will automatically be through to the Round of 16 on top of Group B.
“It’s wonderful to see the fans outside the hotel and in the stadium, it pushes us to do even more. It will be a lovely atmosphere, these are enjoyable games to play and we can’t wait to get started,” Di Lorenzo told Sky Sport Italia.
“We know that Spain are a great team, but we want to show what we can do. We must have courage to play the ball, this is something the coach focuses on, and we will try to put all our quality onto the pitch to hurt them in their weak spots.”
Spain vs. Italy for top spot
Italy won the opener, despite going behind after just 23 seconds to a goal from Albania from a mistaken Federico Dimarco throw-in.
“Every match is difficult, we are seeing that in this tournament. I think coming back from that start against Albania was a show of maturity, because it was not easy, and now we raise the bar even more.”