Luciano Spalletti believes Italy may start to relax and improve at Euro 2024 as the knockout stages await on Saturday.
The Azzurri will return to Berlin's Olympiastadion where they lifted the World Cup in 2006, facing Switzerland in the last 16 after an unconvincing Group B progression for Spalletti's side.
Italy had to come from behind to defeat Albania, were outclassed by Spain and then needed last-gasp heroics to draw 1-1 with Croatia and progress in second place.
Yet Spalletti sees his players calming down for the knockout rounds, having struggled for portions of the group stages in Germany.
"We had this difficult group and you could tell the pressure was on the players, and on me," Spalletti said at Friday's pre-match press conference.
"Now we are through this group, I expect to see the team more relaxed because you cannot make calculations in a knockout round, the kind of mindset that can affect your performance in the group phase.
"We will only go through if we win this game, otherwise we won't, so we need to focus like that. There are no permutations."
A strong history remains between Italy and the stadium in Berlin, dating back to 18 years ago when the Azzurri beat France on penalties in the World Cup final after Zinedine Zidane was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi.
"Everyone remembers that moment in Berlin, but we had Gigi Buffon with us on the bus and he talked to all of us about that situation, helping us to experience what we had only seen from home," Spalletti added.
"We know there is this memory to be honoured, that we must be at the level of those players who brought home the trophy in this stadium.
"We have the responsibility of knowing we have fans all over the world. Even if against Albania and Croatia we were in the minority in the stadium, we knew that all our fans were there in front of their televisions pushing us on.
"We can feel it anyway, even if they are not physically present."
Spalletti confirmed his side will be without wing-back Federico Dimarco on Saturday, while Riccardo Calafiori is out suspended after two cautions in the group stages.
Italy also have concerns over Alessandro Bastoni's fitness, with Nicolo Fagioli appearing likely to get the nod ahead of Jorginho in midfield as well.
"Bastoni needs to be evaluated, he had a bit of training today, which allowed us to breathe a sigh of relief," Spalletti continued. "Dimarco cannot recover, he is out.
"We will play with something that resembles a four-man defence because we must try to be more attacking than what we've seen so far.
"You have young talent pushing and we must create the space that they deserve. Fagioli has this natural, calm way of doing things, so seems perfectly suited to that role.
"It's just about having the courage to give him that space."
Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (aet, 3-0 pens): Ronaldo atones for penalty miss as Selecao inch through
Cristiano Ronaldo saw an extra-time penalty saved by Jan Oblak, but recovered to convert in the shoot-out as Portugal survived a huge scare to beat Slovenia on spot-kicks following a goalless draw in the last 16 at Euro 2024.
Ronaldo had a glorious opportunity to send Portugal through in the first half of extra time, but broke down in tears when his tame kick was repelled by the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper.
He had earlier missed chance after chance in regulation time as Slovenia – chiefly thanks to the efforts of Oblak – kept Roberto Martinez's team at bay to force spot-kicks.
However, he made no mistake with his second attempt from the spot, and Diogo Costa kept out all three Slovenia kicks from Josip Ilicic, Jure Balkovec and Benjamin Verbic.
The Selecao will now take on France for a spot in the semi-finals on Friday, while Slovenia's tournament is over despite a gallant effort in Frankfurt.
Both Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were unable to get a touch on Bernardo Silva's inswinging cross as Portugal put Slovenia under pressure early on, the former also heading straight at Oblak when presented with another good chance 31 minutes in.
Oblak was then relieved to see Ronaldo send a dipping free-kick effort narrowly over the crossbar, before Joao Palhinha saw a low drive kiss the outside of the post on the stroke of half-time.
Ronaldo saw another free-kick beaten away by Oblak after the restart, before Benjamin Sesko squandered a huge chance on the break, dragging his shot wide after showing blistering pace to beat Pepe – now the oldest player to play in a World Cup or European Championship knockout match at 41 years and 126 days.
Ronaldo had one final chance to avoid extra time in the 89th minute, but Oblak stood firm to repel his left-footed strike at the near post, and keep Slovenia in the tie.
It was Oblak versus Ronaldo once again as the first half of extra time drew to a close, Daniele Orsato awarding a penalty when Jota was felled by Vanja Drkusic.
Ronaldo went for the bottom-right corner, but Oblak sprung across to make a brilliant stop and leave the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in tears at the interval.
It was then Costa's turn to produce the heroics at the other end, making a huge one-on-one save to deny Sesko following a mistake from Pepe to take the tie to penalties.
Costa was unbeatable in the shoot-out, too, keeping out all three Slovenia kicks, while Ronaldo atoned for his earlier miss by converting coolly with Portugal's first kick, before Fernandes and Bernardo Silva also converted as the Selecao edged through
Griezmann hits back at France criticism after booking quarter-final place
Antoine Griezmann hit back at media criticism after France progressed to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 with a 1-0 victory over Belgium.
Jan Vertonghen's 85th-minute own goal was enough to send Les Bleus into the last eight after another flat performance.
It was the second time that an own goal had given them a win at the tournament, after their opening victory over Austria.
Kylian Mbappe is the only Frenchman to score at the tournament, netting for the first time at the European Championships from the penalty spot against Poland, meaning France's wait for an open-play goal continues.
However, Griezmann was not happy when it was suggested that the scoreline was too low, or that he had made a sacrifice by switching out to the right of the front three.
"Don't p*** us off about a small score or something, we're in the quarters," Griezmann told BeIN Sports. "Big game defensively for the team. Without a great defence, you can't go far. It was another new system for us, we have to get used to it.
"I learned [about my position on the right] this morning. I'm at the service of the coach and the team. The coach told me to play here, I play here.
"No matter where I play, I'm going to give my all. [Didier Deschamps] knows where I like to play, but I'm always going to give everything for the team. This coach has confidence in me and I try to give it back to him."
Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot was left to lament a first-half yellow card, his second booking of the tournament, which will see him miss the quarter-finals.
Despite his frustration, he was proud of the team for grinding out the win.
"It's a real relief with this goal," Rabiot told RMC. "We played a good match, we were solid.
"We have this ability to not concede a goal, to be very good at recovery. We know that it will only take one to put it in the net. It was the perfect match because with this goal at the end of the match, we broke their legs.
"I'm disgusted to have taken this yellow. I find that the refereeing at the start of the match was a little limited. But I have confidence in the guys on the bench, I will be behind them."
Columbus Crew v Nashville SC: Munthali hoping to leave positive impact as interim boss
Nashville SC interim head coach Rumba Munthali says his main aim is to get the club into a "positive spot" as they look to get back to winning ways against Columbus Crew.
Inter Miami ended Nashville's three-match MLS unbeaten streak on Saturday, with the Coyotes unable to mount a second-half comeback.
It leaves them seventh in the Eastern Conference, with the teams below them starting to close in on the last final series spot.
However, Munthali was optimistic following the defeat, explaining his focus is on the players' continued improvement.
"Against Miami, I thought we should have done better with defending set pieces and the scoring chances we had in the first half," Munthali said. "In the second half, we showed some fight, some resolve, and I commend the guys for that.
"My job at the club is to help players get better. It's just working in a different capacity [as head coach].
"I like helping players and I think they know that. My mindset hasn't changed. We're really looking towards the next game to make sure our club is in a good positive spot."
Meanwhile, Columbus sit three points above them in the table on 33 points.
The Crew have won their last two matches by an aggregate scoreline of 9-1, with Cucho Hernandez scoring four of those goals, with head coach Wilfried Nancy full of praise for his star man.
"Cucho scores goals, but he also makes chances," Nancy said. "He was sad because he was on the side with some back pain, and he wanted to come back and help the team. Now he is, it's good for the team and good for him."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Hernandez has been the star man for Columbus this season, and not just in the last two games when he has stepped up his goalscoring.
He has scored 10 goals so far this season – the most of any player for the Crew – with half of those coming in his last three outings for the club.
Nashville SC – Tyler Boyd
Tyler Boyd scored his first goal of the season during Nashville's most recent win, netting the winner against New York City FC.
While he could not follow that up against Miami at the weekend, he had the second-most shots for the team, though he did not test the goalkeeper.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus have won three of their previous eight meetings with Nashville in MLS, winning their last such home match against the Coyotes in June 2023 (2-0).
Having gone on a seven-match winless streak from late March to early May, Columbus have since lost just one of their last seven in MLS (winning the other six).
Nashville are unbeaten in their previous four road matches, conceding just once in that run (during a 2-1 win over Toronto FC). They will be hoping to extend that run by getting their first win at Columbus since April 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 58.2%
Draw – 27.18%
Nashville SC – 20%
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