Gigi Di Biagio reveals he predicted the Czech Republic’s failure to beat Denmark and “it was mission accomplished” against Germany.
The Azzurrini needed a miracle to qualify for the Under-21 European Championship semi-final after losing 3-1 to the Czech Republic.
They had to either beat Germany 3-1 or hope that Denmark got something off the Czechs and they came through, as the already-eliminated Scandinavians won 4-2.
Gigi Di Biagio reveals he predicted the Czech Republic’s failure to beat Denmark and “it was mission accomplished” against Germany.
The Azzurrini needed a miracle to qualify for the Under-21 European Championship semi-final after losing 3-1 to the Czech Republic.
They had to either beat Germany 3-1 or hope that Denmark got something off the Czechs and they came through, as the already-eliminated Scandinavians won 4-2.
“We won, but criticism is part of the job, we need to understand where we got it wrong and learn from it,” the Coach told Rai Sport after a 1-0 victory.
“We took on a very tough side and the objective was to win it 1-0, then see what happened elsewhere, so it was mission accomplished.
“Seeing the characteristics of the opposition, the Czechs love to counter-attack, so tonight they had to take the initiative and evidently they had problems.”
Di Biagio dropped centre-forward Andrea Petagna and introduced Federico Chiesa for a 4-4-2 system.
“The plan worked to lift the tempo and not give Germany many reference points. They caused us problems in midfield, which was natural.
“Now we’ll celebrate for half-an-hour before we start thinking about Spain.”