“It will be special to play against Italy”, Fabian Ruiz

Credit: Photo by Icon sport

Former Napoli midfielder Fabian Ruiz admits it will be “special” to face Italy and their former coach Luciano Spalletti at EURO 2024.

As Albania and Croatia drew yesterday, whoever wins today is guaranteed a place in the last 16 and top spot in Group B. “We know how good Italy are, they’re always competitive in all the big tournaments, and it will be a tough, balanced game. Spalletti likes to control the game. Playing against Italy is always special for me, because I love this country. I’ll also be up against my former team-mates and a coach I worked with. I don’t need to give too much advice on Spalletti, our staff have already studied him carefully. We know he likes to press high and steal the ball, so I expect Italy to be strong, aggressive and work the ball well. I was very happy that Napoli won the Scudetto, because I have a lot of friends there and I have such affection for the city. I’m happy for all the players who won the title. We don’t see ourselves as favourites, but we have a lot of confidence in our potential to go all the way. It won’t be easy, there are a lot of strong teams,” declared the former Napoli player.