Montella: It helps if Serie A is suspended a week before the play-offs, Wales are strong at home

November 21st After the playoff draw results were announced, Italian star and Turkish coach Montella accepted an interview with Italian Sky.

How do you feel?

"Romania is a young team that has participated in the European Cup. Lucescu is a mentor for all of us, he has the dual mentality of Italy and Turkey that we are all familiar with. In fact, to qualify for the World Cup, you must be the best, no matter who the opponent is."

The next two finals

"Hopefully we can pass We had a great 2-2 draw in Spain and no players were suspended, which is an important consideration for our lineup. Now we can only cross our fingers and hope that we can be in the best condition for the game. "

Do you want the league to be suspended before the play-offs?

"I will be very happy, I have three players in Serie A, and I will ask the Italian Football Federation to suspend the game on the Sunday before the play-offs as before. If the players arrive on Monday, you can't have real training until Wednesday, and Thursday is pre-game preparation. Two more days will make a big difference."

Italy vs. Northern Ireland, is Italy the favorite? Or does it mean that football no longer has this concept of ‘popularity’?

"Football always tells us that some things no longer exist. Malta also accumulated a lot of points in the World Cup preliminaries, which they could not do in the past, and the same goes for the Faroe Islands. Italy must do their best and then if there is a chance, maybe face Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final, but on the road. I mentioned Wales because I have played against them many times in the past few years. They are very strong at home and it is a very difficult game. To qualify for the World Cup, you have to be your best and cannot make any mistakes."