Torino center-back Alessandro Buongiorno believes Italy can turn the pressure into a weapon ahead of their mouth-watering Euro 2024 clash against Spain. While he expects a ‘tough’ game against La Furia Roja, the in-demand Serie A defender is confident of Gli Azzurri’s chances of securing knockout qualification with a game to spare.
“It’s going to be a tough game where we need to keep possession against their press, then when they have the ball, try to block the wingers,” the Italy international told UEFA.com. “The most important thing is that we keep trying to play our game.
“There are many clashes with Spain that I remember. It’s never easy against them because they’ve had this playing style that evolved over the years.“
Buongiorno was on the bench as Italy recovered from conceding the quickest goal in the history of the European Championships to beat Albania 2-1 in their opening Group B encounter. Despite weathering an early storm, Luciano Spalletti’s men are still under pressure as the reigning holders.
However, the 25-year-old sees it as a ‘positive pressure’ that could only help Italy to achieve their goals in Germany.
“It is a positive pressure. A positive sense of responsibility that pushes us to go beyond our limits both during the matches and in training, everything it takes,” Buongiorno concluded.
Spalletti surprisingly decided to leave the Torino star on the bench against Albania. Bologna’s Riccardo Calafiori partnered with Alessandro Bastoni at the back and excelled in his first appearance at a major tournament. Therefore, Buongiorno will probably remain on the bench against Spain on Thursday.
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