Materazzi: Is the play-off final away from home? I like it very much. It’s not easy to win against Malta in recent years.

Materazzi, who attended the event in Zurich as the assistant for the 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off draw ceremony, immediately commented on the Italian national team's path to promotion after the draw results were announced.

——After defeating Northern Ireland, the Azzurri will challenge the winner between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina

"I loved playing away games back then, and the shouts of the opponent's fans made me stronger. Gattuso and Buffon (referring to the current Italian coach) The training team is ready, they are not afraid of pressure and know the significance of this kind of competition "

- The prospects of the Italian team

"I was responsible for Italy's journey? Maybe it was like this... But now the responsibility belongs to others. , my time in charge has long passed. There are no easy games in football, and we all know that this is the last chance after two consecutive absences. We cannot only blame others, but we must be prepared for this difficult battle. It has nothing to do with the rules of the previous two seasons. We need to run at full strength, and there is no doubt about the ability of the players. "

- Is short-term training useful?

"Two days are too short. We can only communicate but cannot carry out actual training. Let the team use these two days to make slight adjustments. "

——How to get rid of the shadow of past losses?

"Only by relying on efforts that never let anyone down. We are aware of the difficult situation and believe that the whole world is looking forward to Italy's presence in this tournament. The number of opponents we have to catch up with is huge. It is extremely difficult to win in Iceland or Malta, which is worth pondering. We must start to build a truly important system, including youth national teams at all levels that can change the situation. "