Zaccagni reveals Italy players hurt themselves while celebrating goal vs. Croatia | OneFootball

Italy hero Mattia Zaccagni admits some players hurt their ribs while celebrating his goal against Croatia on Monday but warns the Azzurri about ‘tough’ Switzerland.

Zaccagni spoke with UEFA’s official website ahead of an EURO 2024 Round of 16 tie against Switzerland.

The Lazio star inspired Italy’s qualification to the knock-out phase with a late equaliser against Croatia.

“These days have been intense. The goal was a great emotion,” said the Italian winger.

“Obviously, we didn’t know we had to draw to qualify, but luckily we made it. Now, we are only focused on preparing for a crucial game against Switzerland.

“We know the national team can suffer at times, but it emerges when it matters the most. That’s precisely what we expect from ourselves.”

The Azzurri would have been eliminated without Zaccagni’s goal as results in the following two days would have pushed Italy outside the four best third-placed.

Zaccagni reveals Italy players hurt themselves while celebrating goal vs. Croatia

“I hadn’t even realised it was the last moment,” continued Zaccagni, talking about his goal.

“When I saw Calafiori running with the ball and the Croatia defence moving towards the centre, I remained in my natural position, and when I received the ball, I didn’t think about it twice. The celebration was fantastic. With all my teammates, the staff members and all the guys. Some of us hurt our ribs because everyone crushed us. But it was really exciting.”

After the game, Zaccagni received a call from his idol, Alessandro Del Piero.

“Alex has always been my idol, even though I knew him only a few days ago, before leaving for Germany,” admitted Zaccagni.

“Then, we spoke once in a while before and after the games. I talked to him after the Croatia game and he congratulated me. He was happy for me. Yes, those two goals really are similar.”

The Azzurri will meet Switzerland in the opening Round of 16 game at the Euros tomorrow.

“We’ve seen Switzerland play these days, and they are a tough, very prepared team,” warned Zaccagni.

“They have experienced players who play in our league. We know we’ll need a great performance. They’ve proved to be a good team collectively. They are united, and we’ll need an excellent performance to beat them.”

On paper, England and the Netherlands are the only top teams on Italy’s path to the final as they are on the same side of the bracket.

“Of course, the draw is pretty favourable, but we’ve already seen in this tournament that smaller teams are causing problems for the big sides, so we must remain focused on one game at a time,” concluded Zaccagni.

“Among the surprises, I like Austria, but Switzerland are also very strong.”

Italy CT Luciano Spalletti will preview Saturday’s match at a pre-match press conference on Friday, joined by captain Gigio Donnarumma.

It is still unclear whether Zaccagni will start against the Swiss, while Gianluca Scamacca seems the