Sweden’s Serie A based players Emil Krafth and Marcus Rohden will “trash-talk” Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne in the World Cup playoff.
The first leg of the showdown is in Stockholm on Friday evening, followed by the decider at Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Monday.
“Italy are very organised and tactically-skilled,” Bologna defender Krafth told SportExpressen in Sweden.
Sweden’s Serie A based players Emil Krafth and Marcus Rohden will “trash-talk” Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne in the World Cup playoff.
The first leg of the showdown is in Stockholm on Friday evening, followed by the decider at Milan’s Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Monday.
“Italy are very organised and tactically-skilled,” Bologna defender Krafth told SportExpressen in Sweden.
“However, many of them are moody and have a temper, so I hope we can exploit that somehow. If we can shut down those who are more prone to being bullied, then the others might not give their best and the cracks will start to show.
“Insigne is very skilled and usually wants to cut inside from the left on to his right foot for the finish towards the far post. We must try to steer him so that he can only shoot with his left foot. I’ve faced him a few times.
“I think that if we bully them, Italy will lose their temper. When you meet better teams in Italy, it’s often a tactic to keep it tight and try to frustrate them.
“The biggest talents in the Italy squad are Insigne and Verratti. We know that Verratti is on a yellow card and could miss the second leg at San Siro, so we want to take advantage of it and trash-talk him a bit.”
Crotone midfielder Rohden agrees with his fellow countryman Krafth on the need to harass the Nazionale.
“Italy know they have a very good team, but at the same time, it’s not the same side as a couple of years ago. It’s clear Italy believe they will win this play-off easily.
“Self-confidence can bolster a team, but at the same time it can cause over-confidence. For example, if Insigne doesn’t get to do what he wants, it may affect his game. When Insigne is on form, he’s one of the world’s top players, but he also has a typically Italian temperament that wouldn’t quite fit in with Swedish football.”