Milena Bertolini is not short of compliments for the current European Champions, England. Under her leadership, the Italians will take on the Lionesses in the second game of the Arnold Clark Cup, in a sold-out Coventry Arena.
In their first game of the tournament, Italy faced Belgium in what became an end-to-end match. The Red Devils came away with all three points after the final whistle, where a 90-minute right-footed strike from former Manchester City forward Tessa Wullaert broke the deadlock.
The Italians had a superb second half and will hope to build on the final 45 minutes against Belgium.
Bertolini spoke to the media on Saturday, regarding her side's second match in the tournament.
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An English Challenge
Bertolini highlighted many of England's qualities when addressing the press; stressing the true danger the Lionesses possess. She believes her competitors are currently one of the best teams in the world, with a fanbase to match.
"A very difficult match awaits us.
"At the moment the English are one of the strongest national teams in the world together with the United States and Germany.
"They have quality in all departments, great physicality, and technical intensity and they will be able to count on the support of the fans who will fill the stadium."
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A Performance to Build on
According to Bertolini, the key to stopping a dominant England performance is to pick up from where Le Azzurre left off against Belgium. Although a challenge, the Italian manager asks for no more than a hard-working performance from her squad.
"We will have to start from the excellent second half played against Belgium. I want to see courage and conviction right from the start of the game.
"It will be necessary to work as a single block, keeping distance between departments well and managing the emotional aspect in the best possible way.
"After the final whistle, I'll be happy if I see that the players have given everything, helping each other and putting their quality, heart and soul into the field."
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The Rise of the Italians?
Using the trajectory of her opponents as an example, Bertolini spoke about where she would like to see Italy progress to. With more money than ever being spent on the women's game, the boss still believes more needs to be done before Italy can be considered a world-class side.
“We are growing and we will gradually be able to bridge the gap that separates us from top-tier selections.
"To succeed we need to continue to invest and work at 360°, just like England did, which has an incredible following when it plays. In order for the movement to grow, no aspect must be overlooked”.