Italy can become great team, Spalletti says

ROME : Italy can become a great team if they play at their best, coach Luciano Spalletti said on Wednesday, ahead of a game against Belgium which he described as crucial for their hopes of progress in the Nations League.
Italy, top of Group Two after winning both matches last month, host Belgium on Thursday and Israel on Monday. Belgium are level on three points with second-placed France and Israel are bottom on zero.
“We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves,” Spalletti told a news conference.
“It is a crucial match for our future,” Spalletti said, adding that AS Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini would be in the starting lineup.
Italy will be without injured Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella along with Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa who is unwell.
Spalletti named Monza forward Daniel Maldini in his squad, the son of Italian great Paolo who won 126 international caps for the national team and grandson of Cesare, who last represented Italy 61 years ago.
“He is the (kind of) player we were missing,” Spalletti said.
Italy exited Euro 2024 at the last-16 stage and failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, something that has deeply embarrassed a nation who have won the global trophy four times.
Spalletti said the team felt an obligation to be at the next World Cup in 2026, but that it should not become an obsession.
“It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy,” he said.
The Italian football federation said a ceremony to commemorate former Italy striker Salvatore Schillaci, a star of the 1990 World Cup who died last month, will take place at the Stadio Olimpico ahead of the match against Belgium.