Italy striker Lorenzo Insigne credited coach Roberto Mancini for building a "fun" atmosphere around the national team squad that has allowed him to put in his best performances at the European Championship.
Insigne scored a curling strike as the Italians reached the Euro 2020 semi-finals with a 2-1 win over top-ranked Belgium on Friday.
"I'm really having a lot of fun. I've never played with such a big smile on my face, it's like playing with my mates back home when I play during the week," he said.
"The head coach deserves credit for that because he really has allowed us to produce our best football. And everyone, myself included, is really playing with a smile on their faces. And that's our secret.
"I'm very pleased for the team as a whole because we're proving that we're a great squad and the head coach deserves a lot of credit for that. We simply need to kick on because we haven't achieved anything yet. We still have plenty to do.
"We need to kick on ... we haven't achieved anything yet. We need to put in this last effort, keep our head down and graft."
Italy will take on Spain in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia will host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries.
FIFA is set to confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 men's World Cups on Wednesday, with a three-continent, six-nation bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal to be awarded the former and the latter going to Saudi Arabia.
Following arguably the most dominant year of golf since Tiger Woods was in his prime, Scottie Scheffler received the PGA Tour Player of the Year award on Tuesday night.
European Ryder Cup stars Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton, and Major winner Adam Scott are the latest stars to confirm their return to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, while PGA TOUR winner Akshay Bhatia will make his debut at the Emirates Golf Club from January 16-19.