Capello: I saw Italy on the court as a team without a sense of belonging and self-esteem

Recently, Italian coach Capello was interviewed by the "Milan Sports" newspaper. He analyzed the possibility of Italy advancing to the 2026 World Cup and said that some Italian national team players lack a sense of national honor.

Capello said: "It will be a new record, but I don't even want to consider the World Cup without Italy. Especially after the poor performance of the European Cup." He pointed out that the position of the national team coach is very unstable now.

"I think this is normal, at least his position is difficult. In Italy in the past, if you were not doing well in major games, whether it was the World Cup or the European Cup, you would be dismissed. But now, no one will quit."

When asked whether he also pointed to Gravina, Capello said: "Including him, too, although I don't think the national team's performance depends on the president of the Football Association. And Gravina was re-elected with nearly 99% of the votes in the February election, so what are we talking about?" Capello also mentioned that there were three players in Spalletti's roster who had participated in the Champions League finals, a main player who won the UEFA Cup, two Serie A champions, and Serie A top scorer.

He said: "We are not much worse than others. I often say that there are two steps from Class C to Class B, four steps from Class B to Class A, and six steps from Class A to National Team. Wearing a blue jersey is different, it represents the responsibility of the entire country."

"But what I saw on the court is a team without a sense of belonging and self-esteem. I don't know if our players feel national honor, but they obviously don't show it well. In addition, I am dissatisfied with the absence and rejection of certain players. "

He specifically mentioned Archerby's incident: "Sparletti said those things publicly, it is indeed wrong, but a player cannot refuse to play for the national team. Archerby should prove that the coach really needs a 'veteran', not a rejection."

" This is a bad signal that the team is not strong in belonging. Similarly, I cannot understand Calafiori's behavior."