Torino centre-back Alessandro Buongiorno reveals that Italy players immediately congratulated their teammate Mattia Zaccagni when they learned that his goal against Croatia avoided their elimination in the group phase.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s group stage results at EURO 2024 meant the Azzurri would not have qualified for the Round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams if they had lost against Croatia on Monday.
Italy centre-back Buongiorno spoke about the players’ reaction and what they told Mattia Zaccagni last night after learning that his goal qualified them for the knock-out phase.
“We immediately congratulated Zac and thanked him. We were very happy after the game and even more so after knowing it allowed us to qualify,” he said.
“There is the awareness that Italy never give up. We scored at the end of a tough game, and now we are trying to prepare for this match to the best of our ability. We know it won’t be easy. We’ve started watching the opponents’ videos, and we’ll try our best to get ready.”
Italy will meet Switzerland in the Round of 16 in Berlin on Saturday, June 29.
Click here to read every word Buongiorno said during his press conference.
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