{"id":588,"date":"2026-03-30T11:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/588\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:50:16","slug":"dzeko-warns-if-italy-are-afraid-to-play-in-wales-something-isnt-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/588\/","title":{"rendered":"Dzeko warns: \u2018If Italy are afraid to play in Wales, something isn\u2019t working\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edin Dzeko says that he has taken no issue with the video clip of Federico Dimarco and Guglielmo Vicario celebrating Bosnia\u2019s penalty shoot-out victory against Wales, but has warned that if Italy are \u2018afraid\u2019 to play away in Cardiff, then \u2018something isn\u2019t working\u2019.<\/p>\n

Dzeko \u2018would have preferred to not play against Italy in this final\u2019<\/p>\n

I<\/a>taly and Bosnia will meet in Zenica<\/a> on Tuesday evening for a place at the 2026 World Cup tournament after wins for the against Northern Ireland and Wales in their respective semi-finals on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n

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Italy is the highest ranked nation in the world that does not yet have a spot at the World Cup wrapped up, and will now have to take on the freezing temperatures<\/a> and hostile atmosphere at the reduced-capacity Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Minor off-pitch \u2018controversies\u2019 have cropped up for Italy in the days leading up to their play-off final, including a viral video clip of Dimarco, Vicario and a handful of their national team colleagues celebrating Bosnia\u2019s penalty shoot-out victory over Wales<\/a> on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

The video was met with mixed reactions, with some accusing the Azzurri stars of being too \u2018arrogant\u2019 or lacking respect for their upcoming opponents.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThank goodness the focus has shifted to the other side,\u201d said Dzeko when asked about the clip during his pre-match press conference in Sarajevo on Monday (via TMW<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has their own preferences, who they want to play against and who they don\u2019t. You have to be smart, especially today with social media, because everything can slide in a different direction. But for me, this is all normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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CARDIFF, WALES \u2013 MARCH 26: Edin Dzeko of Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates scoring his team\u2019s first goal with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-off match between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Cardiff City Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Warren Little\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Dzeko was asked about the now infamous video clip for a second time during his press conference. He says that he \u2018doesn\u2019t know why\u2019 Italy didn\u2019t want to play against Wales, and says that something must be up if a side like the Azzurri fear the thought of having to play away in Cardiff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all saw what happened,\u201d Dzeko said. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you honestly that it\u2019s a very normal thing. Like I said before, we all have our preferences. Mine might have been to not play against Italy in this final. I can\u2019t celebrate because I\u2019m playing against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut obviously today we have to be careful. We saw it. Italy didn\u2019t want to play in Wales, I don\u2019t know why. We went there without fear and we won. I don\u2019t know why Italy should be afraid of Wales or Bosnia. They have an incredible national team, which has won four World Cups. If they\u2019re afraid to play in Wales, something isn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

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CARDIFF, WALES \u2013 MARCH 26: Edin Dzeko of Bosnia and Herzegovina scores his team\u2019s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers KO play-off match between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Cardiff City Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Warren Little\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we have to see if they can suffer in this way in this game as well. A lot is at stake after missing two World Cups. It means that they\u2019re afraid. Dimarco wrote to me saying that he didn\u2019t want to offend anyone and I told him what we\u2019re talking about now. There\u2019s no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And on his own country, Dzeko said: \u201cWhat we want is to win, but we still have to prepare well and play to the maximum. Italians will have prepared well because it is important for them as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that Italy won\u2019t underestimate us, especially not after the statements from Dimarco and Vicario. Nobody was happy with how things went. We have to show our quality, we play at home and we\u2019re focusing a lot on the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dzeko spent close to a decade of his career playing in Serie A, but has since left Fiorentina to play for Schalke in the 2.Bundesliga, his first time back in Germany since leaving VfL Wolfsburg for Manchester City in 2011.<\/p>\n

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Official: Edin Dzeko joins Schalke 04 from Fiorentina (picture via www.schalke04.de)<\/p>\n

\u201cGerman and Italian football have nothing in common,\u201d Dzeko said. \u201cWith the former, intensity prevails. This is what is missing in the Italian game and it is also pointed out by journalists. Maybe they don\u2019t do well for this reason. I expect a tactical game. Italy have also missed the last two World Cups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dzeko also spoke about the previous conversations he has had with Italy national team head coach Gennaro Gattuso.<\/p>\n

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MILAN, ITALY \u2013 NOVEMBER 16: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Italy, looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Norway at San Siro Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him at the match in Florence, Fiorentina vs. Milan,\u201d Dzeko recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him \u2018Mister, I hope to see you in Bosnia\u2019 and here we are. We\u2019ll see each other in a very important game for both countries. I have a lot of friends in Italy, there will be a lot of respect before and after the game.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEveryone must stand up and applaud when the Italian anthem begins. Italy came to play friendly matches after the Bosnian war in 1996. For this, we are always grateful. Then in 90 minutes, it will be a battle. Friends afterwards, like before. Whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edin Dzeko says that he has taken no issue with the video clip of Federico Dimarco and Guglielmo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[121,588,215,216,419,39,231,5,139,590,175,118,589,587],"class_list":{"0":"post-588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-italy","8":"tag-bosnia","9":"tag-cardiff","10":"tag-dzeko","11":"tag-federico-dimarco","12":"tag-fiorentina","13":"tag-germany","14":"tag-guglielmo-vicario","15":"tag-italy","16":"tag-italy-national-team","17":"tag-manchester-city","18":"tag-milan","19":"tag-norway","20":"tag-vfl-wolfsburg","21":"tag-wales"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}