Antonio Conte wants “no regrets” and expects Belgium v Italy to be “one of the most interesting games of Euro 2016.”
The Azzurri open their tournament in Lyon on Monday evening against Belgium at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
“We have finished the preparation phase this morning and there’s no point denying emotions are running high,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
Antonio Conte wants “no regrets” and expects Belgium v Italy to be “one of the most interesting games of Euro 2016.”
The Azzurri open their tournament in Lyon on Monday evening against Belgium at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).
“We have finished the preparation phase this morning and there’s no point denying emotions are running high,” said the Coach in a Press conference.
“These are important competitions, I experienced them as a player and now for the first time as the Coach of the national team. It’s a source of great pride and responsibility.
“We worked hard and I am very happy. The line-up? You’ll see tomorrow…
“We hope tomorrow will be a great game, as there are 46 warriors on the field, 23 of them ours and 23 for them. We feel the push of our nation behind us and everyone will do something more.
“The important thing in these situations is to use our heads and put what we studied into action.”
Belgium are considered one of the candidates to win Euro 2016, as they are second in the world FIFA rankings.
“There’s not much to say, as everyone can clearly see how well they’ve done to build for the present and future with top players. There’s a lot of talent there, they deserve compliments for their work on the football movement.
“More than list the names of their stars, you just have to look at the strength they’ve got on the bench to realise why they are among the favourites.
“How far can Italy go? The truth will be on the pitch and that is where we must prove that we deserve something. If we don’t, then it’s only right that we go out at that stage, without regrets, knowing we’ve given our all and done everything we could do.”
There were reports Conte was hiding the team from ‘Belgian spies’ by not training in Lyon tonight.
“Absolutely not,” he smiled. “We’ll continue to take this approach throughout the tournament and we do the same before friendlies. It’s my habit of training in the morning and after a journey the players can just have a kickabout if they want to.”
Are Belgium weak defensively and can Italy make their tactical expertise count more at Euro 2016?
“The first few games are already showing that there are strong teams caught out at the end or scraping a victory. I think tomorrow’s game will be one of the most interesting of the Euros, as these are two teams that want to entertain and we played a very fun friendly back in November.
“In tournaments like this you need to be well-prepared in every aspect to go forward. We arrived at the tournament with this tactical approach, a chameleon-style one that mutates by degrees depending on different situations.
“I do feel the need to say these lads over two years have done so well, because it’s not easy to understand certain situations in a few days of work. Now we’ve been together for a couple of weeks and are fine-tuning the tactical concepts.
“You are the ones who say the Belgium defence is weak. I see players from Barcelona, Chelsea, then we’ll have to see who is the full-back after Nicolas Lombaerts went home.
“This is a squad with quality and substance in midfield and attack, while in defence they have experience. I think this is a team that will make its mark both in the present and future.”