Andrea Belotti felt Italy “proved our character and quality” in the draw with Portugal, but “the goal was cursed!”
The Palermo striker forced several saves and his diving header hit the woodwork in the 0-0 European Under-21 Championship draw.
“Unfortunately the goal seemed cursed for us tonight! Sometimes due to bad luck, others down to bad finishing or good saves, the ball really did not want to go in,” Belotti told Rai Sport.
Andrea Belotti felt Italy “proved our character and quality” in the draw with Portugal, but “the goal was cursed!”
The Palermo striker forced several saves and his diving header hit the woodwork in the 0-0 European Under-21 Championship draw.
“Unfortunately the goal seemed cursed for us tonight! Sometimes due to bad luck, others down to bad finishing or good saves, the ball really did not want to go in,” Belotti told Rai Sport.
“It’s a shame, as we really wanted the result tonight. We brought out our character after the Sweden game, reunited with strength and realised we all needed each other to go forward.
“We wanted to show that the real Italy had character and could play great football. I feel we did prove that, other than scoring the goal.
“Certainly it was a pleasure to have Antonio Conte in the stands, as he is a great Coach and we would all love to one day step up to work with the senior squad.”
The final Group B game is against England on Wednesday, but even a victory won’t be enough if Sweden and Portugal draw.
This is because Sweden would end up on four points, level with Italy, but ahead due to a superior head-to-head record.
“We have to focus on our own match, to put in the perfect performance and once we get the three points, we can see what the others did.”