Coach Gigi Di Biagio “was convinced” Italy would progress by beating England and will evaluate his future “over the next few days.”
The Azzurrini finished joint second in Group B with Sweden, but went out due to an inferior head-to-head record, as the opening 2-1 loss to the 10-man Swedes proved decisive.
Coach Gigi Di Biagio “was convinced” Italy would progress by beating England and will evaluate his future “over the next few days.”
The Azzurrini finished joint second in Group B with Sweden, but went out due to an inferior head-to-head record, as the opening 2-1 loss to the 10-man Swedes proved decisive.
It was a heart-breaking finale to their 3-1 victory over England tonight, as at first news filtered through that Portugal had taken the lead, then four minutes later the Scandinavians equalised.
“It hurts. It hurts because I was convinced that with a win today we would go through. That didn’t happen and we are very upset,” Di Biagio told Rai Sport.
"I still believe in clean football – I realise I am one of only a few who does. I was happy when hearing that Portugal had taken the lead and thought the game would be played all the way. I haven't seen the footage of what happened, so I can't really comment."
FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio had said Di Biagio would definitely keep his job if Italy reached the semi-finals and therefore the Rio Olympics in 2016, but they crashed out in the group stage.
“Tonight was a unique opportunity, as the objective of Rio was right there. I know how much the squad has grown, the lads who are ready to step up for the senior side, but I cannot be happy.
"We mustn't forget where we started out and I believe we played the best football of the tournament."
Senior Italy Coach Antonio Conte was present for the last two games of the group and went into the locker room for a pep talk afterwards.
“Antonio is pleased with the work we have done, but it hurts too much right now to evaluate two years of work. I know what we’ve done, but the results are ultimately the deciding factor.
“My contract is the least of our issues. We’ll evaluate it over the next few days and see what needs to be done, but tonight I really don’t want to talk about it.”