Italy prepped for Israel with coach Gattuso hopeful of long-lasting peace in the Middle East

VIDEO SHOWS: ITALY TEAM TRAINING ONE DAY BEFORE MATCH / ITALY HEAD COACH, GENNARO GATTUSO, AND ITALY DEFENDER, GIANLUCA MANCINI, SPEAKING DURING PRESS CONFERENCE RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: UDINE, ITALY (OCTOBER 13, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. ITALY PLAYERS ARRIVING AT FIELD FOR TRAINING SESSION 2. TRAINING BEGINNING 3. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING DEFENDER MATTEO GABBIA, TRAINING 4. TRAINING IN PROGRESS 5. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING GOALKEEPER GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA AND MIDFIELDER NICOLO BARELLA, TRAINING 6. TRAINING IN PROGRESS 7. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING DONNARUMMA AND BARELLA, TRAINING 8. ITALY HEAD COACH, GENNARO GATTUSO, WALKING ON FIELD DURING TRAINING SESSION 9. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING DONNARUMMA AND BARELLA, TRAINING 10. TRAINING IN PROGRESS 11. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING FORWARD GIACOMO RASPADORI AND MIDFIELDER MANUEL LOCATELLI, TRAINING 12. GATTUSO WATCHING TRAINING 13. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING FORWARD FRANCESCO PIO ESPOSITO AND DEFENDER GIOVANNI DI LORENZO, TRAINING 14. ITALY PLAYERS, INCLUDING DEFENDER GIANLUCA MANCINI AND MIDFIELDER BRYAN CRISTANTE, TRAINING 15. TRAINING IN PROGRESS 16. GATTUSO WATCHING TRAINING 17. VARIOUS OF TRAINING IN PROGRESS 18. ITALY DEFENDER, GIANLUCA MANCINI, TAKING SEAT AS PRESS CONFERENCE STARTS 19. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALY HEAD COACH, GENNARO GATTUSO, SAYING: “I am very happy to see that the war is over, to see people, parents waiting for their children, who have had the chance to hug them, to see people on the other side returning home too – some are no longer there (and they) are trying to take their furniture, because I have seen such pictures too. These are wonderful things, and I hope they will last forever, because there is nothing worse than what we have seen in these two years”. 20. CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS 21. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALY HEAD COACH, GENNARO GATTUSO, SAYING: “Tomorrow we will enjoy and thank those 10-11,000 people who will be inside the stadium. We are grateful because it is very, very important to us, and we respect – I personally respect – those who are outside as well. I am sorry that so many families wanted to bring their children, they could have come to a night of celebration, a day of celebration, but we also respect those (who are outside).” 22. CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS 23. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALY HEAD COACH, GENNARO GATTUSO, SAYING: JOURNALIST: “Are you already training the team for the play-offs, given that they were such a trauma?” GATTUSO: “No, we have to make it to the play-offs. I don't even want to answer that question. We're focusing on tomorrow's match because we're not in the play-offs yet. Let's focus on what we have to do.” 24. CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS 25. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ITALY DEFENDER, GIANLUCA MANCINI, SAYING: “The first leg was a bit of a crazy match. We were 4-2 up in the 80th minute, then they came back… in the 86th minute, well. We let them back into the game a bit stupidly, we've reviewed the situations, we know what we did wrong, and we'll try not to repeat it.” 26. PEOPLE LEAVING ROOM AS PRESS CONFERENCE FINISHES STORY: Italy's national soccer team geared up on Monday (October 13) for Tuesday's World Cup qualifier match against Israel in the city of Udine, in an atmosphere deeply marked by the unfolding developments in the Middle East.    With a 3-1 win in Estonia last week, Italy boosted their hopes of finishing second in Group I. Norway top the group with 18 points from six games while Gattuso's side have 12 points with a match in hand on their rivals.    The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup with the runners-up going into the playoffs.    "We're focusing on tomorrow's match because we're not in the play-offs yet," said coach Gennaro Gattuso, vowing not to repeat the errors that turned the first leg against Israel into a frantic end-to-end game.    The match will be played under tight security as a pro-Palestinian march will go ahead on the day of the game in the city centre, even after Israel and militant group Hamas agreed a deal to end the war in Gaza.    Organisers expect up to 10,000 people to attend the march, which will take place several kilometres away from the stadium. Instead, 9,200 people have bought tickets for the match, according to the Italian soccer federation.    The Italian team will be "grateful" to the people inside the stadium, but will "respect those who are outside as well," Gattuso said during a press conference.    "I hope (peace) will last forever. There is nothing worse than what we have seen in the last two years," he added. (Production: Cristiano Corvino, Roberto Mignucci, Matteo Negri)

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