Davide Frattesi, Inter midfielder, assured this Monday that Spainindividually, “is better than Italy”, which will force the transalpines to show “the Italian spirit” in the next meeting of the ‘Group of Death’, this Thursday in Gelserkirchen.
The victory against Albania (2-1), although somewhat scarce and with a comeback, put Italy in a very good position to reach the round of 16. The reality is that the duel against Spain, which beat Croatia (3-0), will put both teams in the reality of their possibilities with a high-profile confrontation in which Frattesi sees Spain a little better.
“Against Spain there will be more spaces than against Albania and we will have to take advantage of them. We will continue trying to play with possession, although it will be more difficult to have the ball as much as on Saturday. We will have to be careful in defense because they will put more pressure on us,” he declared from Iselhorn, town where the ‘Azzurra’ prepares the tournament.
Frattesi, a physical marvel who was the number 12 player for the ‘Scudetto’ champion Inter Milan, did not give any importance to Spain losing possession for the first time in 111 games.
“You have to review each game well and then analyze it. If they are winning 3-0, for me possession is not necessary. In that case, our first objective is not to concede goals so that they do not gain confidence,” he said.
Always with absolute respect for Spain and keeping Italy as a cover, Frattesi recognized that Spain is a step above at the moment: “I think that the current Spanish team is a more modern version, a team that has adapted to Italian football. today. The current players in the midfield of ‘la Roja’ are very strong, especially Rodrigo, but those three phenomena from the past that you never noticed no longer exist. They let them catch the ball.”
“Individually, Spain is ahead of us and that is why we will have to show the Italian spirit that has been with us for years,” he added.
Lamine Yamal, Rodrigo or Nico Williams are dangerous players. Also Fabián, who shone against Croatia. But Frattesi is clear, we should not focus on a single player.
“If we focus on individual duels, we will have little chance. If instead we focus on the group, on unity and sacrifice, we will all be able to do it together. Yamal is young and very good, but they also have other very good players. No They will give us many opportunities and we will have to know how to take advantage of them,” he said.
At Inter he has been a fundamental player, but from the bench. With Barella, Calhanoglu and Mkhitaryan ahead, the starting position was complicated. And he accepted his role.
“I knew that it was not easy to fit into a team that had just played in the Champions League final and I think the space that Inzaghi has given me was the right one. You hope to play as much as possible, but then I always respect the coach’s decisions. “, he stated.
For Italy, under the command of Luciano Spalletti, his role changes slightly. He is still an excellent finisher, but defensively he has to be more committed.
“It changes especially in the defensive phase: here I am a little lower in defense. In the offensive phase at Inter as a midfielder I am higher,” he explained.
Furthermore, he spoke of the block that forms Inter players in the national team. Darmian, Bastoni, Barlla, Frattesi. And the injured Acerbi, who was left out due to pubalgia.
“We have been together for a year and the actions between us arise automatically, especially the outings with the ball. What we do at Inter we sometimes repeat in the national team,” he noted.
“The same thing happens to me with Scamacca because we have known each other all our lives (they coincided as Roma youth players),” he said.
