Italy lack intensity, physicality - Spalletti

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said his team had to make significant changes after Switzerland dumped the holders out of Euro 2024 2-0 on Saturday in their Last 16 match.

Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas' goals earned the Swiss a first win over the Azzurri since 1993 as the Euro 2020 winners were completely outplayed.

"We need players with more physicality, when you think you can play with your quality... but you lose intensity, it's only natural that you need to mix things up," Spalletti told reporters.

"What happened tonight did not come down to one single cause... if you don't do more in tempo and intensity, it's hard to even compete on an even footing.

"We were under par in terms of intensity, tonight I made six changes (to the line-up) because I wanted to allow the players to be fresh, but the tempo was the same."

Despite saying his squad lacked pace, Spalletti took responsibility for the defeat.

“The responsibility is mine, but there’s a big difference between the games I’ve had to coach and the others.”

🗣 Luciano Spalletti pic.twitter.com/c7ODBj9PWW

— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) June 29, 2024

"There's no blame on anyone, I want to stress this," said the 65-year-old.

"The responsibility is mine, I'm always on the side of the players, I thank them for having brought me here (to the Euros)."