Conte: ‘Vergara deserves it more than other Napoli players, I am for meritocracy’ | OneFootball

Antonio Conte explains he starts Antonio Vergara to start Napoli’s must-win Champions League tie with FC Copenhagen because ‘he deserves it more than others, I am for meritocracy.’

It kicks off at the Parken Stadium at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Inter vs. Arsenal on the Liveblog.

MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 11: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of SSC Napoli, looks on prior to the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Partenopei have struggled badly in the Champions League so far this season, as they are on seven points after six games, the exact same as tonight’s opponents FC Copenhagen.

They are at serious risk of early elimination from Europe, so this becomes a must-win match on Danish soil.

Conte sends signal to expensive Napoli signings

ROME, ITALY – JANUARY 04: SSC Napoli head coah Antonio Conte during the Serie A match between SS Lazio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Olimpico on January 04, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

“The team is concentrated, knows the kind of game we are going into, the situation we are in, and aware of the emergency, but ready to battle and overcome every obstacle, the way we have done since the start of the season,” Conte told Sky Sport Italia.

The injury crisis is intensifying, as Matteo Politano and Amir Rrhamani picked up problems over the weekend against Sassuolo and are out for 2-4 weeks.

They join David Neres, Alex Meret, Kevin De Bruyne, Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour on the absentee list, though Romelu Lukaku is back on the bench.

NAPLES, ITALY – JANUARY 17: Antonio Vergara of SSC Napoli battles for possession with Tarik Muharemovic of US Sassuolo Calcio during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and US Sassuolo Calcio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on January 17, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

Summer signings Noa Lang, Sam Beukema and Lorenzo Lucca are all on the bench, but 23-year-old youth academy product Vergara gets his first Champions League start.

“Vergara deserves it, he deserves it more than others, so he plays,” explained Conte.

“I am for meritocracy, I choose whoever deserves it. It doesn’t matter to me if he is 18 or 35, age doesn’t matter. I made my Serie A debut at 16.

“It means he is in better shape than others, so he plays rather than others. I told him if I choose him in the starting XI, it means we believe in him.”