Gianluigi Donnarumma is the Italy captain against the Netherlands and is ‘proud to be part of the future of this Nazionale,’ but clarifies some controversial comments after the Spain defeat.
The third place play-off for the Nations League kicks off at the De Grolsche Veste Stadium in Enschede at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
“I am proud to be part of the future of this Nazionale. The key thing is to show the youth the importance of wearing this jersey, but they know that already. We have the talent in this squad and the results will certainly come,” Donnarumma told Sky Sport Italia.
There was controversy after the 2-1 defeat to Spain when Donnarumma and Francesco Acerbi said that they needed to rediscover their joy, but he meant the style of football and some read it as suggesting the PSG and Inter stars were irritated at having to be on international duty.
“Unfortunately, it was obvious, but some tried to twist my words and those of Ace. I said we needed to rediscover the joy of playing the ball and release that pressure, rather than anything about training or being here. Everyone understood except for a few, but fortunately our coach is smart and laughed it off.”
This afternoon’s game will be the goalkeeper’s 54th senior cap for Italy, a remarkable achievement considering he only turned 24 in February.
He made his debut for the Azzurri in September 2016 and is the captain today as the player with the most caps.