MILAN – After the first round of Serie A fixtures it’s straight into the first international break of the season. Here’s the list of Nerazzurri players who have been called up for international duty, with friendlies and qualifying matches scheduled from 3 to 10 September.
Yuto Nagatomo will be involved in the Kirin Cup with Japan for matches against Uruguay and Venezuela on 5 and 9 September in Hokkaido and Yokohama.
Mateo Kovacic‘s Croatia are set to host Cyprus and Malta for Euro 2016 qualifying matches in Pula and Zagreb on 4 September and 9 September respectively.
Fredy Guarin will travel to Miami for Colombia’s friendly with Brazil on 5 September.
Hugo Campagnaro is in the Argentina squad for a friendly encounter with Germany in Dusseldorf on 3 September.
Gary Medel could feature in Chile’s friendly games against Mexico and Haiti in San Francisco (6 September) and Fort Lauderdale (9 September).
Zdravko Kuzmanovic Serbia’s welcome Euro 2016 hosts France to Belgrade for a friendly on 7 September.
Andrea Ranocchia and Daniel Osvaldo are in Antonio Conte’s Azzurri squad for the forthcoming friendly against the Netherlands in Bari (4 September) and Euro 2016 qualifier against Norway in Oslo (9 September).
Samir Handanovic will visit Tallinn for Slovenia’s first Euro 2016 qualifying match against Estonia. The game is scheduled for 8 September.
Joel Obi‘s Nigeria begin their qualification campaign for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Group A fixtures lined up against Congo (Calabar, 6 September) and South Africa (Cape Town 10 September).
George Puscas is in the Romania U21 squad for Euro 2015 qualifiers against Montenegro and Germany in Bucharest and Magdeburg on 5 and 9 September.
Federico Bonazzoli joins up with Italy U19s for Slovakia v Italy and Poland v Italy friendlies on 5 and 9 September.
Italy Head Coach Antonio Conte has called up 27 players for the Italian National team friendly game against Netherlands on September 4 and the EURO 2016 Qualification game against Norway on September 9, 2014.
Players will meet at the Technical Center of Coverciano on Sunday 31 August by midnight. Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu and midfielder Verratti will arrive until Monday because they are playing with PSG while Mattia Destro will join the team until Tuesday for personal reasons.
First training is scheduled on Monday 1 September at 10:30 a.m. The Italian team will depart on Wednesday 3 September to Bari for the friendly game against Netherlands. The team will return to Coverciano on Friday 5 September. Italy coach Antonio Conte and the team will depart to Oslo on Monday 8 September for the UEA Euro 2016 Qualification game against Norway.
Italian Called Up Players / L’Elenco dei convocati
Goalkeepers / Portieri: Gigi Buffon (Juventus), Padelli (Torino), Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint Germain);
Defenders / Difensori: Astori (Roma), Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Paletta (Parma), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter);
Midfielders / Centrocampisti: Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Darmian (Torino), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), De Sciglio (Milan), Florenzi (Roma), Giaccherini (Sunderland), Maggio (Napoli), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Parolo (Lazio), Pasqual (Fiorentina), Poli (Milan), Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards / Attaccanti: Mattia Destro (Roma), Stephan El Shaarawy (Milan), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Borussia Dortmund), Pablo Osvaldo (Inter), Zaza (Sassuolo).
Photo figc.it
Italian National Team Schedule / il Programma della Nazionale
Sunday 31 August / Domenica 31 agosto
h. 24.00 Meeting at the Technical Center of Coverciano / Raduno presso il Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano
Monday 1 September / Lunedì 1 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (open to the media from 11:30) / Allenamento (aperto alla stampa – ingresso dalle ore 11.30)
h. 12.15ca Press Conference with Coach Conte / Conferenza stampa del CT
h. 15.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
Tuesday 2 September / Martedì 2 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (closed to the media)/ Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
h. 15.00 Meeting with the press (players ) / Incontro con la stampa (Calciatori)
h. 15.30 Training (open to the press for the first 30 minutes) / Allenamento (aperto alla stampa per i primi 30’)
Wednesday 3 September / Mercoledì 3 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
h. 15.30 Charter departure from Florence to Bari / Partenza volo charter da Firenze per Bari
h. 16.50 Arrival in Bar, transfer to the San Nicola Stadium for training (open to the press) following press conference with Coach Antonio Conte and 1 player at the Stadium / Arrivo previsto a Bari, trasferimento allo stadio S. Nicola per allenamento (aperto alla stampa)
A seguire Conferenza stampa del CT e di 1 calciatore presso stadio S. Nicola
Thursday 4 September / Giovedì 4 settembre
h. 20.45 Amichevole internazionale FIFA – ITALIA-OLANDA
A seguire Conferenza stampa del CT / Zona mista (calciatori)
Friday 5 September / Venerdì 5 settembre
h. 10.30 Departure, charter flight from Bari to Florence / Partenza volo charter da Bari per Firenze
h. 11.55 Arrival in Florence and transfer to Coverciano / Arrivo a Firenze e trasferimento a Coverciano
h. 15.00 Medical update: Professor Castellacci / Aggiornamento stampa: punto medico Prof. Castellacci
h. 15.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
Saturday 6 September / Sabato 6 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
h. 15.00 Press Conferene (Players) / Conferenza stampa (Calciatori)
h. 15.30 Training (open to the press for the first 30 minutes) / Allenamento (aperto alla stampa per i primi 30’)
Sunday 7 September / Domenica 7 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (open to the press – admission from 11:30) / Allenamento (aperto alla stampa – ingresso dalle ore 11.30)
h. 12.30 Press conference (players) / Conferenza stampa (Calciatori)
h. 15.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
Monday 8 September / Lunedì 8 settembre
h. 10.30 Training (closed to the media) / Allenamento (chiuso alla stampa)
h. 15.00 Departure charter flight from Florence to Oslo / Partenza volo charter da Firenze per Oslo
h. 18.00 Arrival in Oslo and transfer to Ullevaal Stadium / Arrivo a Oslo e trasferimento allo stadio Ullevaal
h. 19.00 Training (open to the press the first 15 minutes) following press conference with Coach and 1 player at the Ullevaal Stadium / Allenamento (aperto alla stampa primi 15’)
A seguire Conferenza stampa del C.T. e 1 calciatore presso lo Stadio Ullevaal
Tuesday 9 September / Martedì 9 settembre
h.20.45 Euro 2016 match: Norway vs Italy / EQ match NORVEGIA-ITALIA
A seguire Attività stampa UEFA EQ
h. 00.45 Return to Italy / Rientro in Italia
TORINO – After the draw at the Stadio Olimpico, Nerazzurri defender Juan Jesus gave a few statements to Inter Channel:
“We were expecting to come up against a more attacking Torino side, but instead they defended. There wasn’t much space to play. But we still got an important point from it, which is better than losing. Playing on the flank? I tried to get Torino to open up a bit. I carried the ball forward and my team-mates linked up with me, but they were too packed in at the back.
“I’m happy with our defence. We played well and didn’t give them any chances. Just the penalty. We need to believe we can win against Sassuolo, which will be an important game.
“We did well by not protesting the penalty? We have to carry ourselves well. It’s up to Ranocchia to speak, as the rules state. We also had a penalty that wasn’t awarded to us for the foul on Icardi, which for me was more obvious than the one on Quagliarella. But we can’t say anything about the referee. Whether he makes a mistake or not, it’s up to the directors to say something. Not me.”
TORINO – After Inter’s Week 1 match, coach Walter Mazzarri spoke to Sky Sport Italia. “It was a difficult and balanced match. It’s never easy when you’re playing at Torino. They wait for you and you can’t find space. We had some chances and didn’t capitalise on them. We tried until the end to win,” he stated.
“I always expect the best. And then there are many things to assess. Medel has just arrived and played an excellent game, and we played in the Europa League. Torino have an excellent team and it was a balanced game.”
When asked about Osvaldo the Tuscan coach responded: “We managed to get him back at the last moment. I asked him to grin and bear it for a half hour. We wanted to really push up our flank players. Had I had Osvaldo at his best I would have liked to see him and Icardi as starters.
“It’s difficult for any team that comes here to face Torino. We could have scored a goal, and so far we’ve also done well when attacking. Let’s not forget that we’re missing Palacio, and Osvaldo is only at 40 to 50 per cent. But yes, I’m very happy.”
Finally, on Vidic: “He hasn’t said anything in particular. He had suffered a foul and was sent off.”
The coach then added to Inter Channel: “I know how Ventura’s teams play, and they defend well. Then their fans were behind them and it wasn’t easy to find space. So things weren’t easy for us. We had to make some choices that were almost obligatory, and Osvaldo didn’t have 90 minutes in him. I had to call up Bonazzoli, who wasn’t exactly a sure thing himself. Medel? He played very well, better than I expected. Torino approached the game with a certain attitude, and it wouldn’t have been easy for any opponent.
“The boys are improving. We weren’t able to employ the kind of lively football I like. Palacio? He still has to come back and we could have had more of a presence up front with him. We could have played our game. The penalty? Fortunately Handanovic saved it, but if you give that one then you have to give one for the foul on Icardi as well. You need consistency in these judgements. But we’ll end things here.”
