After losing at home to Belgium 2-0 in the opening match of the UEFA Nations League group stage, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, defender for SSC Napoli, spoke to Rai Italia

Leaving the pitch to boos from the fans is never a pleasant experience. When you face a team like Belgium, do you feel the technical difference between the two sides?

Good evening everyone. Leaving the pitch to boos from the fans is certainly not pleasant, but we have to accept it. Regardless of the final result, the whole team gave their all to get a good performance. I want to emphasize again that it's unfortunate because we hoped to start this competition well. We still have many matches ahead of us, and we definitely need to improve in those games.

As for the technical difference you mentioned—we already knew that tonight we were facing a team with exceptional individual quality, and they demonstrated that fully on the pitch. They have incredibly fast players with excellent technical ability, and they can capitalize sharply on the smallest mistakes from their opponents. We experienced this firsthand tonight: we lost possession twice in midfield on relatively simple balls, and they countered quickly and dangerously.

That's what's really unfortunate. In my opinion, when we conceded the second goal, we were actually starting to control the game and had several good chances to equalize. I want to reiterate my regret, but we can still take some of the positive things we showed in this match forward.

Yes, Giovanni, let's talk about building the team overall for this new national team cycle. With four matches packed into the next two weeks, it's crucial to analyze this from a planning perspective. In my view, Italy failed to show in the first half what they've been working on in training. However, in the second half, it became a completely different team. You regained confidence in pressing, in duels, and in anticipating counterattacks on the pitch—things you didn't do in the first half. You created two excellent scoring chances, which unfortunately Lammons saved. That could have been a turning point that changed the whole game. Can we use this as a starting point to prepare for the four remaining matches ahead?

Yes, absolutely. In the first half, I think partly because everyone wanted to show a lot, we may have been too hasty and eager to press high across the entire pitch. As I just said, we were facing opponents with very high technical quality, and they succeeded in breaking our press several times. But still, I think this is the right direction, and this is what the coach wants from us—a team that is brave, willing to attack, and willing to control the game.

In any case, this is only the first of six matches, and the first of four matches we'll face in these two weeks. Even though we made some mistakes, I'm very confident that from here on, our performance will steadily improve.

Giovanni, actually, in my view, the national team's mistakes in the first half weren't due to "excessive courage" but quite the opposite—in my opinion, it was a team full of fear until the second half, perhaps after being awakened in the dressing room at halftime. I think the main issue with this national team cycle is a mental one, because the first half was really very poor. I want to emphasize that I believe this was influenced by fear, anxiety, and memories of previous defeats. This is my immediate feeling after the match, and we'll certainly review the game with the coach later. What do you think?

I don't think it was a terrible match. We had excellent moments during the game when we were controlling it and trying to do what the coach asked. We almost even managed to equalize. But football changes constantly, and as I just said, the second goal we conceded completely drained our morale.

However, a new cycle has begun, and there are many new players and young players in the squad, so making mistakes in the first match is understandable. If we start criticizing and condemning every player just because of the opening match, that's certainly not a good start, and in my view, it's not helpful for the national team. We know there will be many obstacles ahead, and we need to face them together and overcome them together. But overall, I want to reiterate that we have other matches ahead of us, and we sincerely hope to do better in the upcoming games.

Giovanni, I believe you have enough experience and standing in the national team to share your perspective with me, rather than this being a question. This is something I'd like to discuss with you: as you just said, how long do you think it will take us to return to that uninhibited, creative state that the national team coach spoke about—enjoying football to rediscover joy and to reclaim the reputation we deserve, because truthfully we have lost our standing in recent years—how long do you think it will take us to at least be competitive and have enough dignity when facing the other strong teams we'll encounter?

I hope it's as soon as possible. In my opinion, this is largely a matter of confidence. I mean, maybe after a few important victories over some strong teams, this confidence and enthusiasm will multiply, making us strong again—a team that other nations fear once more. That's what we want, and we will do everything in our power to bring Italy back to the summit that the glorious history of this national team deserves.

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