Lucca: ‘United’ Italy know how to stop Haaland

Lucca has already made three appearances with the Italy national team, all under Luciano Spalletti.

“I think that we are a strong group, with a mix of young and older players. A very united group,” he said.

“The coach is someone who I don’t need to say what a great coach he is, and a wonderful person. I can say that we can play in a very serious way going into the World Cup.”

The Azzurri will play their first game in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on June 6, visiting Norway and Erling Haaland, one of Lucca’s role models.

“I study Haaland a lot. For me he is maybe the best striker in Europe, best in the world inside the penalty area,” he said.

“His movement, how he loses his man, the spaces that he sees, these are things that I work a lot with, together with my personal coach, who is someone who helps me improve on all things by watching videos. He is a player who when he has his day and if his teammates are able to get the ball to him, he is a very very strong striker.

“I think that Italy have very strong defenders: Bastoni, Calafiori, Buongiorno – I’m surely forgetting someone – are all players who have experience having played many matches in the European cups, with the national team. I am sure that they will be able to stop him.”