Bastoni: We can do this against any team, and we are happy with the performance

Alessandro Bastoni, defender for the Italy national team and Inter Milan, expressed his happiness with the performance his country delivered during the 1-1 draw against France in the UEFA Nations League, affirming that the team showed its ability to compete with the big teams even away from home.

Alessandro Bastoni scored Italy's goal against France, continuing his attacking brilliance after also finding the net during the big win over Turkey, where they won 4-1. He has now scored two goals in two consecutive matches for the national team.

Alessandro Bastoni said in statements to "RAI Sport": "It was a difficult match, and we knew it would be like that, and this is not something new, but I am very happy with the team's performance."

He added: "We fought hard, we suffered at times, and we even managed to disrupt some of France's plans for tonight, as they were preparing for a big celebration. We knew we didn't come here for a stroll, and that's exactly what happened."

Alessandro Bastoni did not expect to become one of the main sources of goals in coach Roberto Mancini's lineup, but he scored in consecutive matches during his return to the national team.

The Italian defender stated: "Of course, I feel happy to score another goal, but as soon as we scored, I thought about the need to ensure that we do not concede another goal, otherwise we would have lost everything. This is a good result that gives us more confidence to move forward."

Bastoni said: "I didn't expect to score two goals, but I didn't lose confidence in myself. I won't let one or two situations ruin a career in which I've played over 300 matches."

He added: "I thank my family for standing by me, and I hope that my perseverance in keeping my head up and not giving up is seen as a positive thing."

He said: "We believed in our chances of winning from the start, in fact, we had the best opportunities in the first half to break the deadlock."

Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni concluded his statements with a strong message: "It is a strong signal, because if we can perform like this against France in Paris, we can do it against any team. Now there is another match in this journey, and we will not consider anything guaranteed; it is another important test."