National Team, Costantini: "Tomorrow we go out to do well, for us there is no such thing as a friendly"

Just over twenty-four hours remain before the first of two back-to-back international friendlies between Saint Lucia and San Marino. Both matches will be broadcast live in Italy and San Marino on San Marino RTV’s multimedia platforms, with the first kick-off scheduled for 23:00 tomorrow. The Titani have just completed their first training session at a federal training centre. In the afternoon (Saint Lucia is five hours behind Central Europe), the Biancazzurri will also get a feel for the pitch and the stadium that will host both games against the home national team. Some logistical issues and the high temperatures, a far cry from the readings on the thermometer in San Marino at this time of year, were the first and most immediate takeaways from this initial outing. These factors, Costantini assures, must serve as additional motivation for the twenty-six players called up for this first-ever trip outside Europe: "We’ve had to deal with a few minor, predictable mishaps, but these will have to be taken onto the pitch tomorrow evening as extra motivation on top of what we already have and certainly do not lack. There’s no such thing as a friendly for us; instead, they must be our litmus test for the qualifying fixtures that await us. I am convinced that we will do well, despite the difficulties we will face. We are fairly well prepared, even if we are missing a few too many players: you will see some debuts, and if they are part of this group it is because they have the quality to belong here", Costantini concludes. Alessandro Golinucci is likely to feature tomorrow. The Virtus midfielder is very clear about the team’s intentions: "We have come here with a very clear objective, which is to take home a win. It’s a dream we have nurtured for a long time, and we have often come close. But just brushing against victory is no longer enough for us. This morning we had our first training session and it was really hot; tomorrow, playing in the early evening, we hope for better conditions, but we will adapt to whatever circumstances we are faced with".

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