Cristante: Italy wants to win the next World Cup qualifiers and be ready for March next year

Before Italy’s World Cup qualifying match against Moldova, Italian midfielder Cristante was interviewed.

Cristante first said: "We want to win the game and put in a convincing performance to continue our growth path. But it will never be easy. Every game in European football is very challenging. All teams are very strong, especially at their home court, and they will want to perform well."

Italy is currently ranked second in the group and is likely to need to participate in the World Cup qualifying play-offs. Cristante continued: "This is related to the spiritual level. Winning helps to continue to win. So we must perform well next to be ready for the (play-offs) in March next year."

Finally, Cristante talked about the Italian national team coach Gattuso: "He has the spirit of wearing this jersey, and this passion is part of him. He has created the history of the Italian national team and passed this spirit to us."