Donnarumma: ‘Italy back on track and enjoying football’ | OneFootball

Gianluigi Donnarumma can feel ‘the same spirit’ as EURO 2020 in the Italy camp ahead of their Nations League clash with France. ‘Luciano Spalletti found the right medicine to get us back on track.’

It kicks off at San Siro on Sunday at 19.45 GMT.

Although both teams have already qualified for the Nations League quarter-finals, a point will suffice for the Azzurri to secure top spot and therefore guarantee top seed status in the draw for this new stage of the tournament.

“Tomorrow is going to be a special game with great fans, we can’t wait to play at San Siro. Our objective is to play beautiful football and suffer when we need to suffer, with the love that we have for this jersey,” said Donnarumma in a press conference.

Italy beat Belgium 1-0 in Brussels on Thursday with a goal from Sandro Tonali and are unrecognisable from the side that crashed out of EURO 2024 in the Round of 16.

Luciano Spalletti changed their tactics to 3-5-2, but there is more to it than that.

“The difference is made by the mentality of the squad, as well as everything that the coach and his staff are doing,” explained Donnarumma.

“He found the right medicine to get us back on track, to make sure Italy returned to being Italy. We needed a big shift after the Euros, now the objective is to keep improving, working and enjoying ourselves. I am seeing the same spirit we had in EURO 2020, with many lads who really want to wear this jersey.”

Donnarumma knows France strikers well

ISERLOHN, GERMANY – JUNE 11: Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy arrives before a Italy training session at Hemberg-Stadion on June 11, 2024 in Iserlohn, Germany. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images for FIGC)

France are coming off a disappointing 0-0 draw with Israel and are still smarting from the 3-1 home defeat against Italy that opened this Nations League group in September.

“They will be fired up, aggressive and eager to make up for past results. I know their strikers pretty well, so it will be a struggle,” added the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper.

“The step we are taking is to be more aggressive on every ball. We will need that against Barcola and Kolo Muani, who play with me, while I know Zaire-Emery too.”

France have again left out Kylian Mbappé, although this time Didier Deschamps insisted that the Real Madrid star had been open to being part of the group after previously asking to be left out.

“I don’t know what is behind that, but he is certainly an important absence for them,” added Donnarumma.

“Spalletti gave a big hand not just to me, but the many young players in the side, and now I feel like I have enough experience to help them too. At the Euros this summer, I would get back into the hotel and think we were a team that struggled to just pass the ball around. Now you can see our unity, we also have the right determination not to concede.”

Playing at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza has been a mixed emotion for Donnarumma ever since he left Milan as a free agent to join Paris Saint-Germain, because while the initial loud jeers have calmed slightly, there are still some Italy fans present who actively cheer against him over club issues.

“San Siro was my home for many years, you feel a totally different energy stepping into that stadium. We must be proud and get the fans fired up. I expect a good reaction, because when we wear the Azzurri jersey, we are all Italians together.”