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Greece national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Jun 8, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Italy national football team

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Verratti backs Mancini tactics as Italy look to extend winning run

Verratti backs Mancini tactics as Italy look to extend winning run
© Reuters
The Azzurri will remain clear at top of their Euro 2020 qualifying group if they beat Greece on Saturday night.

Marco Verratti has backed Roberto Mancini's tactical reshuffle that sees Jorginho filling a similar role for Italy to the one that has so polarised opinion at Chelsea.

Paris St Germain midfielder Verratti hailed Azzurri boss Mancini's measured approach play, that sees him and Chelsea star Jorginho sharing deep-lying playmaking responsibilities.

Jorginho became a lightning rod for fan criticism of head coach Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge this term, though the Blues pushed on to seal a third-place Premier League finish and win the Europa League.

Mancini has borrowed from Sarri's Chelsea playbook to have Jorginho and Verratti sharing the load in launching attacks from deep, with the PSG star expecting big dividends.

"It is a module where both Jorginho and I are called to start the action and then one has to play a little more between the lines," said Verratti.

"The coach has this idea of playing the ball and being in the other half of the field to score goals.

"In the last five or six games we did very well, always playing in the same way.

"These matches give us confidence and we can say that the experiment was successful."

Italy face Greece in Athens on Saturday bidding for a third straight win in Euro 2020 qualifiers to keep them top of Group J.

Verratti believes ex-Manchester City boss Mancini has revitalised Italy, and expects the squad to deliver for their manager now.

"We can improve, we are a young team that can still grow," Verratti told Italy's official website.

"The coach has created a nice group where everyone feels important and we can go back to where Italy needs to be.

"Mancini gave me the confidence that was important to me, he sees football like me and puts everyone at ease. I hope to repay his trust."

Greece are expected to recall a host of top names following their 2-1 loss to Turkey in last month's friendly.

Manager Angelos Anastasiadis can call on the likes of Kostas Mitroglou, Vasilis Torosidis and Sokratis Papastathopoulos as Greece eye positive results from back-to-back home clashes, with Armenia also in Athens on Tuesday night.

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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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