The comments made by the Azzurri defender at the press conference.At a press conference held on the second day of the training camp in Coverciano, Riccardo Calafiori spoke about the upcoming match between the Italian national team, led by head coach Gennaro Gattuso, and Northern Ireland in the semi-final of the play-offs for qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.Below are his full comments: “I’m fine; we’ll see how it goes on the pitch today, but I’m fine. As for managing the moment, in these situations the key is to live in the present and not overthink things, to enjoy every single moment because it can turn into something special. Staying together, sticking as a team and focusing on the next match.”"I prefer to focus more on ourselves rather than on the opposition; it depends more on us than on others. There’s a lot of talk about the Premier League, but the Champions League is tricky even for English teams. Football isn’t an exact science. The biggest difference lies in the intensity of training sessions and matches; in the Premier League, the match itself is the real training. Arsenal play two games a week, so there aren’t many training sessions. The intensity is high; there are few lulls.”Calafiori also focused on the style of play and the national team that Northern Ireland represent: "We need to prepare for this match as if it were any other; we must keep things light. We need to be careful with set-pieces against us; they can be dangerous. In today’s football, they can make the difference because it’s a fine line. As soon as they get the chance, they look for this kind of play; we mustn’t concede this kind of play and need to be careful with second balls.”"I'm thinking of the match against Estonia, which we played in Bergamo. The stadium will give us a boost too; I reckon it'll be even better on Thursday."Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting"Yes, I like to think of it that way. But as I said before, you can’t predict how the match will end; the message we want to send is that we should all stick together and stay positive. In matches as important as this, tactical and technical ability only count to a certain extent; what matters more is unity and the right mindset."Calafiori also spoke highly of his work with manager Gattuso, highlighting a few points: "I really appreciated the way the manager treated me; over the last few months, I’ve heard from him more than from my own mother... He was great at sticking by me, even when I was out of the team. Then there was the dinner in London – it was lovely to get together and have a chat. We haven’t had the chance to train together in recent months, but there’s little need for training and plenty of time to spend together. He certainly picked up the bill (laughs, ed.). We talked about football; Buffon and Bonucci were there too. It was an evening among friends; they told us a few anecdotes and then we talked about the match.”Finally, the Azzurri defender described his feelings ahead of the match: "Because we all want the same thing, so why make life difficult for ourselves? I always like to think positively; if you think positively about achieving something, you’ll eventually get there. The pressure is there; there’s no point trying to avoid it. We all know how important it is for us to qualify for this World Cup. We’re not dwelling on what might be; we’re already two points behind. I’m happy to be playing in this match – that’s the message I want to send out. Let’s try to enjoy it and think positively; it could be a week where we’re really happy because we’re thinking of nothing else but the World Cup. It all depends on how you view this match. Wearing this shirt comes with responsibility, but I see it more as an opportunity. For a thousand reasons, I’d much rather play a match like this than not. Going to the World Cup is the dream I’ve had since I was a child, and I can’t wait to play this match.”All the latest updates in real time! Join the CALCIOMERCATO.COM WhatsApp channel: click here