By Anna Italia
Follow me on Twitter @ItalianSerieA,
Facebook: Anna Italia Page
Instagram: annaitalia2
Italian Soccer Serie A

        Italy – Bulgaria

Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini ready to continue the successful journey withe the Italian team after winning the UEFA EURO 2020.   Italy is now archiving that victory to concentrate for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifications.  Matchday 4 is Italy vs Bulgaria on Thursday 2 September 2021 at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy at 20:45.   Mancini is looking for a fourth consecutive victory in the qualifiers.  If Italy win, Mancini  will equal the record of consecutive unbeaten results (35) held by Spain between 2007 and 2009.

Mancini saying,  “I want to thank the fans who supported us during the European Championship.  Tomorrow we must do what we know how to do, the stakes are already very high and there must be no distractions”. The hope is that, on 11 July in London, Italy opened a new cycle, made up of beautiful play and successes: “For three years – explained Mancini – our hope has been to involve the boys in doing something different than in the past, something that could lead us to a cycle of important victories. We won the European Championship, and in 13-14 months we will have the World Cup. The goal is to keep playing like this, to qualify and then try to win it. But for now, we have to pay attention to the next three games which are decisive”.

👉 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Group C, Italy leading with 9 points

Historically, the Azzurri have always struggled in September, when Serie A is in its infancy and opponents usually have more fuel in their legs. Better to be cautious then, even if the current Bulgaria side are a distant relative of the national team that faced Baggio and his teammates in the semi-final of the USA ’94 World Cup. A team without stars, relegated to 75th place in the FIFA Rankings, and already beaten 2-0 six months ago in Sofia thanks to goals scored by Belotti and Locatelli: Coach Mancini warned: “The first match is always the trickiest because you’re coming back after some time. We need to have maximum concentration. But in these days we’ve evaluated the health of the players and it’s not so bad, they’ve had fewer holidays and their athletic condition is good”.

After announcing that the formation will be similar to that which lined up in the European final, the coach replied to those who asked him if Sarri’s new set-up could bring benefits to Immobile: “Ciro has always done well, as has Belotti. He just has to keep playing and stay calm. Sometimes it takes a bit more effort, also because some games were played at the highest level, but he and Gallo have always done what they had to do”.

Among the heroes of Wembley was Leonardo Bonucci, who scored his eighth and undoubtedly most important goal for the national team on 11 July: “The best moment – he declared at today’s press conference – was the team embrace after Gigio’s save, even if at that moment some of us didn’t realise that it was a decisive save. In that embrace, there was all the sacrifice, the hunger, and the desire to win the European Championship. Now we have found ourselves with the enthusiasm, and with friends and companions with whom we will be linked forever. We’ve also been joined by players who were already part of the group before the European Championship, so they know how to carry themselves”.

The important thing now is to look ahead and not rest on our laurels: “Now the race for the World Cup begins again, and the matches won’t be easy” underlined the Juventus defender. “We have to sit at the table knowing we are strong, but with the humility that distinguished us at the European Championship. Bulgaria are a good team at closing you down and countering. Tomorrow evening we’ll play a great game, with great energy that will come to us from the public. I’m sure the fans will give us a hand if we have a difficult time”.
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Ticket option for Italy National team games

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🇮🇹 👉 The Italian National Team Squad

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint Germain), Pierluigi Gollini (Tottenham), Salvatore Sirigu (Genoa);

Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Davide Calabria (AC Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Lione), Alessandro Florenzi (AC Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Frello Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Juventus), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain), Nicolò Zaniolo (Roma);

Forwards: Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Juventus), Giacomo Raspadori (Sassuolo), Gianluca Scamacca (Sassuolo).

🏆👉🇮🇹 Italy vs Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Match Officials

🗓️Thursday 2 September 2021
🏟️Artemio Franchi
⏲️20:45

🙍‍♂️Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
🚩Joost van Zuilen and Johan Balder (NED)
4⃣ Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)@MaestroJuve21 @NazionaleCalciohttps://t.co/rAw0LnuIkC pic.twitter.com/mny8ODAMrf

— Anna Italia (@ItalianSerieA) September 2, 2021

🇮🇹 👉 The Italian National Team Schedule (all times CEST)

Wednesday 1 September
17:30 – Italy press conference at the Coverciano CTF Auditorium
18:00 – Italy training at the ‘Vittorio Pozzo’ pitch at Coverciano
19:30 – Bulgaria press conference at the ‘Franchi’ stadium in Florence
20:00 – Bulgaria training at the ‘Franchi’ stadium in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)

Thursday 2 September
20:45 – ITALY vs. Bulgaria (Stadio ‘Franchi’ in Florence). Press conference after the match and return to Coverciano

Friday 3 September
11:30 – Training at the ‘Vittorio Pozzo’ pitch at Coverciano

Saturday 4 September
10:00 – Switzerland press conference at St. Jacob Park in Basel
11:00 – Switzerland Training at St. Jacob Park in Basel (open to the press the first 15′)
11:00 – Transfer Florence-Basel
17:30 – Press conference ITALY at the St. Jacob Park in Basel
18:00 – ITALY training at the St. Jacob Park in Basel (open to the press the first 15′)

Sunday 5 September
20:45 – Switzerland vs. ITALY (St. Jacob’s Park stadium). Press conference after the match

Monday 6 September
11:30 – Training at the C.S. Basel (closed)
18:00 – Transfer Basel-Reggio Emilia

Tuesday 7 September
16:45 – ITALY press conference at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium
17:15 – ITALY training at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium (open to the press the first 15′)
18:15 – Lithuania press conference at ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium
18:45 – Lithuania training at ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium (open to the press the first 15′)

Wednesday 8 September

20:45 – ITALY vs. Lithuania (Città del Tricolore Stadium). At the end of the match, press conference, disbandment of the delegation and return of players and staff to their respective headquarters

By Anna Italia
Follow me on Twitter @ItalianSerieA,
Facebook: Anna Italia Page
Instagram: annaitalia2
Italian Soccer Serie A

        Italy – Bulgaria

👉  Here are the match officials for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers game Italy vs Bulgaria on Thursday 2 September 2021 at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy at 20:45.

It is Referee Serdar Gözübüyük from Netherlands will be assisted by Assistant Referee 1: Joost van Zuilen (NED) and  Assistant Referee 2: Johan Balder (NED).  The Fourth Official will be Allard Lindhout (NED).  The VAR will be Pol van Boekel (NED) and the AVAR will be Rob Dieperink (NED).   The Referee Assessor will be Tomasz Mikulski (POL)

🏆👉🇮🇹 Italy vs Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Match Officials

🗓️Thursday 2 September 2021
🏟️Artemio Franchi
⏲️20:45

🙍‍♂️Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
🚩Joost van Zuilen and Johan Balder (NED)
4⃣ Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)@MaestroJuve21 @NazionaleCalciohttps://t.co/rAw0LnuIkC pic.twitter.com/mny8ODAMrf

— Anna Italia (@ItalianSerieA) September 2, 2021

👉 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Group C, Italy leading with 9 points

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Ticket option for Italy National team games

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🇮🇹 👉 The Italian National Team Schedule (all times CEST)

Thursday 2 September 2021
20.45 – ITALY vs. Bulgaria (Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence). Media duties and return to Coverciano following the game.
Friday 3 September 2021
11.30 – Training on the ‘Vittorio Pozzo’ pitch at Coverciano
Saturday 4 September 2021
10.00 – Swiss press conference at St. Jacob Park in Basel
11.00 – Swiss training at the St. Jacob Park in Basel (open for first 15 minutes)
11.00 – Transfer Florence – Basel
17.30 – ITALY press conference at St. Jacob Park in Basel
18.00 – ITALY training at St. Jacob Park in Basel (open for first 15 minutes)
Sunday 5 September 2021
20.45 – Switzerland vs. ITALY (St. Jacob Park). Media duties following the game
Monday 6 September 2021
11.30 – Training at the C.S. Basel (closed)
18.00 – Transfer Basel – Reggio Emilia
Tuesday 7 September 2021
16.45 – ITALY press conference at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium
17.15 – ITALY training at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium (open for first 15 minutes)
18.15 –Lithuania press conference at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium
18.45 – Lithuania training at the ‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium (open for first 15 minutes)
Wednesday 8 September 2021
20.45 – ITALY vs. Lithuania (‘Città del Tricolore’ stadium). Media duties after the match, then the return of players and staff to their respective clubs.

2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Group

Italy – Bulgaria
Thursday 2 September 2021
Artemio Franchi Stadium
Florence, Italy

20:45

Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee 1: Joost van Zuilen (NED)
Assistant Referee 2: Johan Balder (NED)
Fourth Official: Allard Lindhout (NED)
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED)
AVAR: Rob Dieperink (NED)
Referee Assessor: Tomasz Mikulski (POL)