Bologna and Sweden full-back Emil Krafth admits he was overjoyed when discovering he’d face Matteo Darmian rather than Lorenzo Insigne.
Italy lost the first leg of the World Cup play-off, 1-0 in Solna, with Napoli winger Insigne only coming on for the final 15 minutes in a new central midfield role.
“I’ve met Insigne a few times. He’s a really good player, so obviously I preferred to be up against Darmian instead of Insigne,” Krafth told SoloCalcio.se.
Bologna and Sweden full-back Emil Krafth admits he was overjoyed when discovering he’d face Matteo Darmian rather than Lorenzo Insigne.
Italy lost the first leg of the World Cup play-off, 1-0 in Solna, with Napoli winger Insigne only coming on for the final 15 minutes in a new central midfield role.
“I’ve met Insigne a few times. He’s a really good player, so obviously I preferred to be up against Darmian instead of Insigne,” Krafth told SoloCalcio.se.
“Insigne is more of a challenging player to deal with. Darmian is one who comes down to the by-line and turns, but he did hit the post.
“Obviously, yes, I prefer to meet Darmian than have Insigne in front of me. I do think Insigne will start the second leg, as I expect Italy to change to 4-4-2 with him on the wing.”
Krafth also defended the overly-physical approach from Sweden, which included Ola Toivonen breaking Leonardo Bonucci’s nose within 30 seconds.
“The intensity was good throughout the match. You can see how much everyone wants to be at the World Cup. I know the Italians don’t like that kind of physicality and pressing. They have moody players, so if you harass them, their heads drop.
“It was like having a 12th player in the stands, but San Siro holds over 70,000, so Italy will have the advantage there. It’s a wonderful stadium, but we mustn’t think about that.”