Alberico Evani insists there will be very few changes from the Italy side that beat Poland, as they ‘must earn’ Nations League Final Four qualification against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 GMT in Sarajevo, but Bosnia have already been doomed to relegation into League B.
“We know Bosnia are an excellent team, as in the last three games against them we’ve won twice and drawn the other, but they always caused us a lot of problems,” said the assistant manager in his press conference.
Alberico Evani insists there will be very few changes from the Italy side that beat Poland, as they ‘must earn’ Nations League Final Four qualification against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
It kicks off on Wednesday at 19.45 GMT in Sarajevo, but Bosnia have already been doomed to relegation into League B.
“We know Bosnia are an excellent team, as in the last three games against them we’ve won twice and drawn the other, but they always caused us a lot of problems,” said the assistant manager in his press conference.
“Edin Dzeko is not there, but other important players are and it’s not as if the entire team relies on one man. We must be superior as a unit in order to win the game.”
Roberto Mancini is still self-isolating at home with COVID-19, so after the 4-0 friendly win over Estonia and 2-0 Nations League victory against Poland, Evani is again on the bench.
“Roberto wanted to be here and is very disappointed. We’ve all made sacrifices to reach the top of this group and it’d be a huge shame if we didn’t finish the job by reaching the Final Four. We know that we’ve got to earn it.
“Bosnia might be last in the group, but they’re not going to just lie down and let us win. Everyone wants to make a good impression when playing against Italy.
“We’ve been working on this project for two years, there have been big steps forward, but we expect to improve far more than this. It’s not the result that we build on, it’s the performance.”
With that in mind, and the numerous players out injured or with COVID-19, Evani is going to resist squad rotation.
“We might change a few little things, but I don’t think much will change from the team we saw against Poland,” continued Evani.
“I don’t think there’s the risk we’ll rest on our laurels, as we’ve got great players and wonderful people in this squad. In life, but above all in football, what happened yesterday counts for nothing. It’s all about what you do next.”
Evani was asked how Mancini managed to forge such a strong Italy from the ashes of Giampiero Ventura’s side that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
“He’s courageous, as he trusts young players and has patience with them too. He called some players who hadn’t even made their Serie A debuts at club level and they went on to become stars.
“The players love that he treats them all the same way, gives them a sense of confidence and has attacking ideas of football that they enjoy putting into action. We are all moving in the same direction and the players are happy to come on international duty.”