Buffon wants Italy to “rediscover its soul” against France

Gigi Buffon hopes that the performance in Paris can give Italy some of the Olympic spirit that was missing at EURO 2024. “We have to rediscover our performance and our soul against France.”

The opening match of the Nations League kicks off at 7.45pm UK time (6.45pm GMT) at the Parc des Princes on Friday.

In the run-up to the major event, some members of the Azzurri delegation visited the Paralympic team that represented Italy in the city and won medals at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.

Buffon told reporters he hoped their attitude could rub off on the Italian players, particularly the “desire to go beyond your own limits and not to feel sorry for yourself.”

On Monday evening, the Nazionale will face Israel on neutral ground in Budapest.

Buffon wants a new attitude for Italy

“We have to find results again, or at least our performance and spirit, which we had up until the European Championship with some good results and performances. The first three games at the European Championship were not easy, we were in the toughest group, but still managed to advance as second.

“Then we fell apart at the crucial moment and gave a bad impression of ourselves. We need to put that behind us as quickly as possible. In that respect, tomorrow's game could be the right opportunity to send a strong message.”

Italy were eliminated from EURO 2024 in the round of 16 with a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland, hardly testing Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer.