Italy will be "hungry for revenge" following their World Cup absence when they meet Spain at the Nations League Finals in June, Roberto Mancini's assistant Alberico Evani has told Stats Perform.
The European champions missed out on a second consecutive edition of the global tournament last year after falling to a shock qualification play-off defeat against North Macedonia in March.
However, the Azzurri bounced back to top a competitive Nations League group containing Hungary, Germany and England as they qualified for the competition's final four for the second edition in a row.
Italy will face Spain – who beat them in the 2021 semi-finals at San Siro – on June 15 following Wednesday's draw, while hosts Netherlands will meet Croatia.
Evani, who was a World Cup runner-up as a player in 1994 before joining Mancini's backroom team in 2018, knows Spain will be tough opponents but hopes Italy can prove a point.
"We've struggled against them in the past because of their style of play," Evani said of the threat posed by La Roja.
"We would have preferred to avoid them, but it's also nice to have to play against them, as we can see if we have improved.
"We are the only two teams who reached the final four in the last two consecutive editions. Let's see if we can change the result.
"We are hungry for revenge and to take back what we have left in London two years ago [when winning the delayed Euro 2020].
"We have the skills to do it and we are doing all we can to be competitive again, we are working to be in the best possible conditions in June."
Mancini recently called for coaches to be braver in giving top-level experience to young Italian players, something Evani is also keen to see.
"We had a camp right before Christmas and we called up all these young players. There is a lot of quality, they are interesting players with big futures ahead of them," he said.
"We hope their respective clubs will let them play more and more so they can gain the right experience. We have the talents, I think the future is bright."
Evani was speaking less than a week after Serie A giants Juventus were issued with a 15-point deduction following an investigation into the club's past transfer dealings.
Italy won the 2006 World Cup amid investigations that saw several of Serie A's top clubs punished in the aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal, and Evani hopes the Azzurri can again find motivation from a crisis affecting the country's domestic league.
"Our country always find strength in hardships," he said. "We didn't qualify for the World Cup and we now have this issue with the entire Italian football system. Who knows, we might be able to find the right boost to reach new heights."
'Experience counts for nothing' – Guardiola unsure Man City's title race know-how enough to catch Arsenal
Pep Guardiola "would love to be in the position" of Arsenal in the Premier League title race, saying Manchester City's "experience counts for nothing" as they look to catch the Gunners.
City have won the Premier League in four of the last five seasons, but Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side have enjoyed a brilliant campaign to give them a great chance of winning their first league title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' side.
The Citizens are playing catch-up with the Gunners holding an eight-point lead at the summit, and though City have a game in hand, Guardiola acknowledged his side's vast experience of winning titles may not be enough to overhaul the deficit.
"I would love to be in the position of Arsenal," Guardiola told reporters. "I'd prefer to be Arsenal in the Premier League than the position we have.
"Eight points is a real advantage. Experience counts for nothing. They will not drop many points.
"You have to prove it every day. The past is the past. [The] reality is people tomorrow don't think about what you've done in the past. You have to show it again and again otherwise you have to retire."
City return from the international break when they host Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, with the Reds sitting sixth after running Guardiola's men to within a point of the title last season.
Asked whether a collapse similar to the one Liverpool have suffered could have happened to City if he had left the Etihad, Guardiola insisted a drop-off of that magnitude could happen to any club.
"I never think this won't happen," Guardiola said. "Teams win the Premier League, year after they drop off. [It] can happen to anyone, Liverpool, Chelsea.
"[You are] always going to try to find a solution to avoid it. If you don't do well it can happen.
"What happened with Liverpool can happen, I don't know why it has not happened to us.
"All I know is what you did yesterday doesn't count for tomorrow."
Guardiola feels the pressure is only ever a couple of defeats away, explaining: "I've lived a fairytale history here in Manchester. We have won a lot and that's why the storm is less. [But the] moment we will lose, the storm will come.
"When you win it's safe, comfortable. When you lose, you have to find the solution, have to figure out why you are not consistent.
"When we didn't win one, two, three games it's normal. You can lose, figure out why it happened. [You cannot] always expect to win all the games for 10 years, it's not the reality."
Stellini insists Spurs not in crisis despite Conte exit
Cristian Stellini insists Tottenham are "not in crisis" despite Antonio Conte's acrimonious exit from the club.
Conte left Spurs by mutual consent last Sunday, a week on from a remarkable outburst after a 3-3 draw with bottom side Southampton in which his side squandered a two-goal lead late on.
The former Chelsea boss labelled his players "selfish" and questioned the club's lack of silverware during Daniel Levy's time as chairman in a tirade that ultimately cost him his job, with assistant Stellini taking charge until the end of the season.
Conte becomes the third Spurs manager to be relieved of their duties since Mauricio Pochettino, who led Spurs to the Champions League final, was sacked in 2019, while the club's wait for a first trophy since 2008 has extended to 15 years.
Managing director Fabio Paratici has also stepped back from his role while the club awaits the outcome of his appeal against a worldwide ban from football following FIFA's decision to extend his initial 30-month ban from just Italian football to a worldwide basis for financial breaches while at Juventus.
Yet Stellini, who is now tasked with overseeing the final 10 games of the season as Spurs bid to achieve Champions League qualification, does not agree the club is in turmoil, despite the Tottenham Supporters' Trust describing it as "one mess after another."
"When you take decisions for the best you are not in crisis," Stellini told reporters.
"If you have some matters, we have to stay compact and we have to stick together to move on and play the matches."
It was an easy decision for Stellini to assume Conte's position until the end of the campaign, with the 48-year-old saying: "I spoke with Antonio. The club and Antonio spoke to each other. They take the decision together and they let me know, I was aware of it.
"They call me and say the decision is taken and if you agree with us, you can do it. I had no problem to say yes."
Philadelphia Union v Sporting Kansas City: Preview and prediction
Jim Curtin has promised supporters they will see the Philadelphia Union of old in Saturday's showdown with Sporting Kansas City at Subaru Park.
The Union finished top of the Eastern Conference last season en route to losing the MLS Cup final to Los Angeles FC, but they have made a sluggish start to the 2023 campaign.
Philly have lost three of their opening five matches, including back-to-back defeats against a struggling CF Montreal side and Orlando City in their past two outings.
But with winless Sporting up next this weekend, Curtin is hoping to see a response from his players.
"I think the group will have a good response against Kansas City," Curtin said ahead of Union's first home match against Sporting since the MLS is Back quarter-finals in 2020.
"Win, lose or draw we want to put on a good display to our fans and show that we are still a very good team that had a bad outing last game.
"We have players returning and have had a couple of days with them, so we should be pretty much full strength going into the Kansas match."
Sporting have themselves made a slower-than-expected start to the season, having taken just two points from their first five games.
Like Philadelphia, they enter the game on the back of successive defeats, but experienced head coach Peter Vermes knows how quickly things can change.
"It's easy to think negative things, saying what players can't do, but it's amazing how fast a team can turn that, then you ask 'well how did they do that?'," he said.
"A lot of it is to do with plugging away, keep fighting. I've said it before: we've got a good group here and we'll get there."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Andre Blake
Philadelphia's defeats to Montreal and Orlando came in the absence of Blake, whom Curtin this week described as "the best goalkeeper that our league has".
Joe Bendik conceded five goals across those two matches, but Curtin is hopeful Blake will be back between the sticks on Saturday.
Sporting Kansas City – Erik Thommy
Two goals scored in five games is a hugely underwhelming return for Sporting, even more so when you consider they have had 76 shots this term – only Philadelphia have had as many.
Thommy has been heavily involved in an attacking sense, but he has yet to score this campaign and that quite simply has to change if Sporting are to turn things around.
MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA WIN
Philadelphia have clearly lacked the consistency of last season so far in 2023, having lost two MLS games in a row for the first time since September 2021.
The defeat to Orlando last weekend brought an end to the Union's 13-match winning streak on home soil, which was the second-longest run of any side in league history.
But Sporting have really struggled so far, with this only the second time they have gone winless in their first five games, and this seems a good chance for Philly to kick-start their season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union - 62.1 per cent
Sporting KC - 14.8 per cent
Draw - 23.1 per cent
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