Arsenal star plays down injury fears
Riccardo Calafiori has moved quickly to calm any injury concerns in Italy’s camp, insisting he is ready to play in their World Cup play off semi final against Northern Ireland.Photo by Justin Sette...
Arsenal star plays down injury fears Riccardo Calafiori has moved quickly to calm any injury concerns in Italy’s camp, insisting he is ready to play in their World Cup play off semi final against Northern Ireland. Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Riccardo Calafiori hopes to be fit to feature for Italy in their play-off against Northern Ireland after Azzurri boss Gennaro Gattuso said he “felt a little discomfort” following Sunday’s League Cup final. “I am fine,” the Arsenal defender told a press conference on Tuesday.
“We will see how it goes on the pitch today, but I am fine. ” Italy face Northern Ireland on Thursday in a World Cup play off semi-final in Bergamo, with the winners going on to meet Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at this summer’s tournament. Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images The match will take place at Atalanta’s New Balance Arena , kicking off at 19:45 GMT, and Italy, who have missed the last two World Cups, are strong favourites given their deeper squad and home advantage.
About the game, Calafiori added , “I always like to think positively because when you think positively about achieving things, you end up getting them. “There’s pressure, there’s no point in trying to avoid it. We all know how important it is for us to qualify for this World Cup.
We try not to think about it but the game is just two days away. “You can’t predict how the match will end. Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images “The message we want to send is to all stick together and be positive.