Italy, Buffon: "Sweden? Even without Ibra they are fearsome, but we are more prepared for these games"

Italy will face a major test in their World Cup playoff against Sweden. The azzurri have landed in Stockholm and the first leg will be played tomorrow. At their pre-match press conference, Ventura was joined by captain and goalie, Gianluigi Buffon. The keeper had this to say prior to the match, "Footballers live for achieving important goals like this and for realizing that these are the objectives you dream of when you are a child. Tomorrow's match is one that if goes well, will give me great joy, but if it goes badly I won't even want to speak. With Sweden I do not have a great memory of the 2004 Euros, but I have faced them a few times and they must be respected because they are a squad that does not give up anything and they have the right quality. To beat them we will need to have a great match. The fix in 2004? For us the 2-2 result is in the past, because life goes on and as I've said before, if we didn't qualify for the knockout rounds it means we needed to do more. Sweden without Ibra? Ibra is a central figure and everything passed through him, in this case there are many players who can attempt something different. Ibra is one of the few players that can win a match in a single occasion, but maybe without him this is a team that plays more inclusive."