Antonio Conte shrugged off tactical questions ahead of a qualifier in Croatia and won’t discuss Andrea Pirlo’s Italy future.

The Azzurri are currently two points behind Croatia in Euro 2016 qualifying Group H and tomorrow’s game will be played behind closed doors due to previous crowd trouble.

“This is a game between two teams who are tipped to reach the final phase of the tournament, but there is a third wheel in the form of Norway,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

Antonio Conte shrugged off tactical questions ahead of a qualifier in Croatia and won’t discuss Andrea Pirlo’s Italy future.

The Azzurri are currently two points behind Croatia in Euro 2016 qualifying Group H and tomorrow’s game will be played behind closed doors due to previous crowd trouble.

“This is a game between two teams who are tipped to reach the final phase of the tournament, but there is a third wheel in the form of Norway,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

“We will face a very strong side, as Croatia proved that with their performance at San Siro and anything could’ve happened that day.

“Playing behind closed doors is penalising for both sides. At least the one positive aspect is that players will hear our instructions more clearly!”

The tie finished 1-1 in November 2014, as Antonio Candreva’s goal was cancelled out by Ivan Perisic.

Italy lost Andrea Barzagli, Simone Zaza, Marco Verratti and Daniele De Rossi for the big game.

“There are many of us, we prepared for the game in the right way and will play our way. Will we use 4-3-3 or 3-5-2? It is you journalists who are most obsessed with systems. What matters is the principle approach and a Coach needs to adapt to the players at his disposal.”

There are concerns about both form and confidence in the Juventus players after their Champions League defeat to Barcelona last week.

“They recovered well and have a strong mentality. They’ve already shelved the last game and are concentrating on the next, which is equally important for us.”

Pirlo is considering a departure from Juventus this summer for a new role in America’s MLS. If that happens, will he continue to be called up for Italy?

“If he does go, then we’ll talk about it. His move is not certain yet,” replied Conte.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector