Headline: Dayot Upamecano Looks Ahead to Upcoming Clash Between France and Italy
France international Dayot Upamecano expressed his admiration for Italy striker Francesco Pio Esposito, acknowledging the challenge he poses on the field. Despite this, Upamecano affirmed that he will not alter his playing style for the Nations League encounter. The match is set to take place at San Siro on Thursday at 19:45 GMT (20:45 CET).
This match marks the second-to-last round in the group stage of the tournament, where France currently leads with 10 points, followed by Italy with seven and Belgium at six. In the upcoming Matchday 6, France will play host to last-placed Turkiye, while Italy will face Belgium in a crucial match in Brussels on Sunday.
Upamecano Impressed by Esposito
“Italy are a very good team, they changed coach and have players at top clubs,” said Upamecano in his press conference.
He added, “Our concentration is always the same, we are focused entirely on doing well for France. There is no reason to change our style of play; we want to replicate what we do in training, and hope to do so tomorrow.”
France has only dropped points once in this Nations League campaign, having drawn 1-1 with Italy in Paris on October 2. In that match, Inter striker Pio Esposito led the attack and is expected to do so again for Italy this time.
“Esposito is a very good player, very physical; we saw in the first match it was not easy to mark him. I would prefer not to concentrate on a single player, though, because we are taking on the whole Italy team,” noted Upamecano.
It was a challenging match for Upamecano in Paris, where he received a red card for a second bookable offense. “France tries to keep a high defensive line, to press and recover the ball quickly. I like this style of play, and we’ll try to keep that going tomorrow against Italy,” he remarked.
Similar to the earlier encounter in Paris, France will be playing without injured star Kylian Mbappé. Other notable withdrawals include Marcus Thuram, Esteban Lepaul, Ousmane Dembélé, Aurelien Tchouameni, Manu Koné, and Pierre Kalulu.
“It’s true, we are missing a lot of players and I wish them all a speedy recovery, but we are still ready to face Italy, that goes for all those who start and can come off the bench,” Upamecano stated.
Jeremy Jacquet has been mentioned as a likely candidate to join Upamecano in defense as the team adjusts for this match. Upamecano commented on Jacquet’s skills, “I don’t know; you’d have to ask Zidane. He is a young lad, very motivated, and we hope he can keep going like this.”
When asked about his aspirations for the future, Upamecano addressed the possibility of playing in the Premier League, expressing contentment with his current situation at Bayern Munich. “I’ve lived in Germany for a while and I am happy there. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I am happy at Bayern Munich,” he concluded. “I am always ready to improve, try to listen to the advice I receive, and give my all. I think there’s a lot that I can do better.”
