CESC FABREGAS is confident that Spain will beat rivals Italy – because they have “bigger balls”.
Tuesday night will see a replay of the Euro 2012 final that ended in a 4-0 Spain win, the third of their three successive victories at major international tournaments.
The two heavyweights will meet in the last-16 after defeat to Croatia saw Spain finish second in their group after two wins.
On paper the game should be the best of the tournament so far.
But a confident Fabregas told Spanish radio station La Cope: “We’re going to win because we’ve got more balls and bigger balls than the Italians.”
Fabregas, who played as a ‘false 9’ in the Euro 2012 final, added: “We’ve always had evenly matched games against Italy, bar the final in 2012 when we played extraordinarily.
“We need to contain their qualities, and they have a lot of them.”
The Chelsea midfielder added that the defeat to Croatia was a “hard blow to take, but [the squad have] picked ourselves up from that.”
Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea received a lot of criticism for his role in the 2-1 defeat to Croatia, when he was beaten at his near post by Ivan Perisic.
Fabregas has denied that there is any issue with the goalkeeper within the squad – despite reports in the Spanish press.
RELATED STORIES
“People always want to look for a controversy,” he said.
“It’s not true that he’s been scolded by senior members of the squad.
“It seems to me that it’s believed what the press is saying more than the player.
“That doesn’t seem right to me.”
The 29-year-old also handed a boost to Chelsea fans after admitting he wanted to finish his career in London.
After a poor season at Stamford Bridge Fabregas had been linked with a move, but answering a question on the EU referendum, he said he wanted to stay.
“[Leaving]’s not going to affect me.
“I make my living in pounds and pay taxes.
“I want to retire in London, so I’m not going to have a problem.”
Leave a comment