Leonardo Bonucci assures Italy are ‘not a selection, but a genuine team’ and believes Virgil van Dijk and Giorgio Chiellini are ‘two of the five best defenders in the world.’
The Nations League match with the Netherlands kicks off on Monday in Amsterdam at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Azzurri opened their with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Holland beat Poland 1-0.
Leonardo Bonucci assures Italy are ‘not a selection, but a genuine team’ and believes Virgil van Dijk and Giorgio Chiellini are ‘two of the five best defenders in the world.’
The Nations League match with the Netherlands kicks off on Monday in Amsterdam at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Azzurri opened their with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Holland beat Poland 1-0.
“We were away for 10 months, so that made things difficult and it was only natural we’d struggle a little, but during the three months of the lockdown we did talk regularly to make sure we remembered that we are a strong squad who want to be as united as we were during the Euro 2020 qualifiers,” said Bonucci in his press conference.
“This is no longer a selection of international players, it is a genuine team. After we failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, we rediscovered our enthusiasm thanks also to the young players and the work of the coach.”
Italy saw their run of 11 consecutive victories come to an end with the 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina and looked rusty in Friday evening’s match.
“The Nations League is an important competition and the opening draw makes our push for the top spot more complicated, but we started that way last year as well and still came very close to reaching the final phase.”
Bonucci’s Juventus teammate Matthijs de Ligt is out injured, along with Inter defender Stefan de Vrij.
“We are fortunate to be seeing two of the best defenders in the world face off, like Giorgio Chiellini and Virgil van Dijk, who I’d say are two of the top five.
“Van Dijk proved in the Premier League and on international duty that he deserves the Ballon d’Or, while Giorgio has been the best for 15 years.
“The Dutch have a different way of defending to the Italians, they are more physical, whereas we focus more on the tactics.”