By Anna Italia
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Armenia – Italy 
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini giving a press conference on Wednesday 4 September 2019 ahead of the UEFA EURO 2020 Qualifier Matchday 5 game Armenia vs Italy on Thursday 5 September at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia at 18:00 (Italy time).
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini saying that “Our aim is to secure qualification as soon as possible. These are two vital games. We’ve done well so far, we’re regrouping after four months away and we won’t be at our best physically but we have other weapons that will help us to cope. Physically, Armenia are further on that we are seeing that many of them play in leagues which began earlier. They’re strongest in attack, where they have four plays with great skill and pace. They come into the game after an excellent performance in Athens and they’re en route to qualify. We’ll have to play a great game. We’ll be in trouble if we think it’s a simple fixture.”
Photo: figc.it
Regarding the called up players, Mancini saying, “I’m very sorry about the three series injuries that we’ve had [Chiellini, Piccini and Pavoletti] while the others are minor issues that will thankfully pass quickly. Some players, the Torino ones for example, are further ahead but the aim is to go again from the second half against Bosnia and Herzegovina and that same attacking attitude. We’ll have some difficulties like we did against Finland. We’ll have to give our best in the difficult moments.”
Regarding the absence of Captain Giorgio Chiellini due to a knee surgery, Mancini saying that Leonardo Bonucci will take on the captaincy. Bonucci adding “We wish Giorgio all the best. We’ll certainly miss his leadership, his knowledge of how to manage moments in matches and his ability to help his teammates. We hope to have him back as soon as possible and we’re waiting for him with open arms. We’re here to win but we must be wary of Armenia. They played well in Greece, they’ll be very motivated tomorrow and they’re in form. The last time when we played Armenia in Naples, it finished 2-2 and that result meant we weren’t seeded for the World Cup in Brazil which complicated matters.”
Stats: Should Bonucci play against Armenia and Finland, he would match Alessandro Del Piero’s record of total of 91 Italy caps and go tenth in the all-time appearance charts.
Italy is leading Group J with 12 points winning all 4 games. Italy having a +6 points lead over Armenia with 6 points in the 3rd position. Finland having 9 points in the 2nd position is the next opponent for the Azzuri on September 8 in Tampere, Finland.
European Qualifiers Group J Standing after Matchday 4
Photo: uefa.com
🗣 #Mancini: “Armenia are ahead of us physically 🇦🇲 but we want to qualify as soon as possible.”
🗣 #Bonucci: “#Chiellini will be missed but we’re here to win.”
Full article 👉 https://t.co/7CAZehVYKi#ArmeniaItaly #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/n42u72xWNA
— Italy (@azzurri) September 4, 2019
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Stats showing Italy with 34 matches unbeaten in European qualifying: 28 wins (including the last eight) and six draws, Italy haven’t lost an away qualifier in 13 years. That was on 6 September 2006 in Paris against France. The only previous match away against Armenia saw the Azzurri win 3-1 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier with Pirlo, De Rossi and Osvaldo finding the net. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the goal for Armenia that day and the new Roma player is the undoubted star for the team ranked 98th in the world but they’ve performed well in Group J and have six points after beating Liechtenstein and Greece.
Photos: figc.it
Italy Squad list
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);
Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Armando Izzo (Torino), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Luca Pellegrini (Cagliari), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan);
Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Inter), Frello Filho Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Chelsea), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Sandro Tonali (Brescia), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain);
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shangai Shenhua), Vincenzo Grifo (Friburgo), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese).
The National Team’s schedule*
Wednesday 4 September
10:00 CEST – Flight departs from Bologna to Yerevan
All times below are in local time (+2 in relation to CEST)
18:30 (16:30 CEST) – Press conference with the Coach and one player at the Republican Stadium
19:00 (17:00 CEST) – MD-1 Training at the Republican Stadium (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Thursday 5 September
20:00 (18:00 CEST) – Armenia vs. Italy at the Republican Stadium. Meeting with the media after the game and then return to team hotel
Friday 6 September
10:30 (8:30 CEST) – Training at the FFA Academy Training Centre (behind closed doors)
16:40 (14:40 CEST) – Flight departs from Yerevan to Tampere
All times below are in local time (+1 in relation to CET)
Saturday 7 September
17:30 (16:30 CEST) – Press conference with the Coach and one player at the Tampere Stadium
18:00 (17:00 CEST) – MD-1 Training at the Tampere Stadium (open to the media for the first 15 minutes)
Sunday 8 September
21:45 (20:45 CEST) – Finland vs. Italy at the Tampere Stadium. Meeting with the media after the game and then airport transfer
01:15 (00:15 CEST) – Flight departs from Tampere to Malpensa/Rome
*Training and press times in Bologna may be subject to change
#ARMITA #italiansoccerseriea.com #Azzurri
Referee Daniel Siebert from Germany will be assisted by Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER) and Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER). The Fourth Official will be Sascha Stegemann (GER). The Referee Observer will be assisted by Kyros Vassaras (GRE).
UEFA 2020 European Qualifiers
Qualifying Round – Group J
Armenia – Italy
Thursday, 05 September 2019
Republican Stadium
Yerevan, Armenia
18:00 (Italy time)
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
Assistant Referee 1: Jan Seidel (GER)
Assistant Referee 2: Markus Häcker (GER)
Fourth Official: Sascha Stegemann (GER)
Referee Observer: Kyros Vassaras (GRE)
By Anna Italia