Gattuso: ‘Italy see no difference between Wales and Bosnia, Dzeko is a great man’

The Azzurri squeezed past Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo on Thursday, while Bosnia needed penalties to defeat Wales after a 1-1 draw in Cardiff. Their original plan had been to fly in earlier, but the state of the pitch amid rain and snow prompted them to have today’s training session in Italy instead, not arriving in Zenica until this evening. Gattuso not underestimating Bosnia UDINE, ITALY – OCTOBER 14: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Israel at Stadio Friuli on October 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy.

(Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) “Anyone who is in football lives for moments like this,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia following a pitch inspection. “Personally, I feel the tingle of tension, there’s nothing better than that. If you don’t feel it, then you have to hang your boots up, or as a coach just go home.

We know there is a lot at stake, we’re well aware that Italy have not participated in the last two World Cups, but we also must reserve all that energy for the pitch tomorrow and not waste it beforehand. ” Gattuso was already part of the 2006 squad that won the World Cup and had an entire nation celebrating, so now he can provide a different type of gift to the country by qualifying as a coach. “I do feel great responsibility from the first day I took the Nazionale job, but I cannot think about what happens if there’s something positive or negative.

I have to look into my players’ eyes and give them confidence. That’s not because I want to gift them something, but because I believe we can achieve this target. “In the last seven months, the team has improved a great deal.