Leonardo Bonucci admits Italy “were too slow in moving the ball, but Sweden tried to turn this into a brawl” after the 1-0 World Cup play-off defeat.
The second leg will be at San Siro on Monday evening.
“We must learn from the mistakes we made, as we were too slow in moving the ball. We knew it would be played over 180 minutes and it was important to score here, we didn’t, though we had chances and hit the woodwork,” Bonucci told Rai Sport.
Leonardo Bonucci admits Italy “were too slow in moving the ball, but Sweden tried to turn this into a brawl” after the 1-0 World Cup play-off defeat.
The second leg will be at San Siro on Monday evening.
“We must learn from the mistakes we made, as we were too slow in moving the ball. We knew it would be played over 180 minutes and it was important to score here, we didn’t, though we had chances and hit the woodwork,” Bonucci told Rai Sport.
“Now we expect the San Siro crowd to push us forward from the first to the last minute. It’s not enough to say we’ve got determination, we have to prove it on the field.
“We need to focus on Monday, because Italy must go to the World Cup.”
Bonucci was elbowed by Ola Toivonen within 30 seconds of kick-off in Solna.
“The referee should’ve done better to close down the Swedish desire to turn this into a brawl, but considering the situation, we replied blow for blow.
“We need the performance of a lifetime, because it is simply too important.”