Sylvinho: Italy did not allow us to attack it. For Croatia it is like a final

2024-06-18 18:17:38Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Sylvinho

Coach Sylvinho appeared at the usual press conference, on the eve of the match with Croatia, valid for group B of Euro 2024.

Sylvinho stated that the team currently has no shortage, as he added that all players will give their best during the 90 minutes, just like they did against Italy.

Sylvinho highly appreciated the opponents of the Rossoneri in Euro 2024 and said that it is a pleasure that Albania faces them, to learn, to grow and why not, to achieve positive results.

How is the situation of the team?

At this moment we are all in shape. We had a short session this afternoon and will speak to the staff at the hotel, but we have no injuries and everyone is ready for tomorrow's challenge against Croatia.

Can we qualify this challenge with Croatia as a final?

Of course. This is a very difficult group, but it is a great joy for us Albanians, as we play against the best teams and learn from them. It is played for 90 minutes without compromise and we have to do our best to get a result. We have opponents who play in the biggest clubs in the world and it is great to play against such teams, so we will never give up to look for a positive result. We respected Italy but we wanted to avoid defeat until the end and with a bit of luck we could do it. Maybe we will succeed tomorrow against Croatia.

Croatia is a team that creates a lot of chances. There are many stars, but few in their west. What ideas have you created for this team?

We have studied Croatia and against Spain they were defeated 3-0, but they played very well and created many chances to score. They created a lot of problems for Spain, who scored their own goals in just 29 minutes. Croatia has technical players, physically strong and with high passing qualities. The opponents are very strong, but we also have quality players such as captain Gjimshiti, Asllani, Broja, Muçi, etc., some of whom are young and still need to grow. These matches will help them improve a lot.

Italy has been criticized for respecting the opponent more than it should, by not attacking it...

It's not that we didn't attack Italy, but they didn't let us attack it. We attacked with three, but they used to line up with 5 backs and a lot of midfielders. Italy has defended very well and we have to admit that this competition has a very high level. Remember, Italy have midfielders like Jorginho and Barella, two footballers of a very high level and we should be happy to play against them. For us this is challenging and we can do a lot, as we grow even just by facing them. From this point of view, I say we played a good match. We scored, we conceded two goals very quickly, but we still didn't give up.

Croatia's midfield is undoubtedly very strong. How did you intend to cope with them?

It's true, the midfield is their heart. They have names like Brozovic, Modric, Kovacic, or Perisic, who have played and play at the highest levels, so it will be very difficult. We have to fight hard and be careful not to allow too much, as they know how to exploit every mistake.


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