Italy U21 coach Paolo Nicolato insists he is ‘satisfied’ with the 0-0 draw against Spain, but another two red cards were ‘over the top.’
The result keeps their chances of qualification alive, because Slovenia and the Czech Republic also drew 1-1 in the other game.
It means Spain have four points, Italy and the Czech Republic two, Slovenia one.
Italy U21 coach Paolo Nicolato insists he is ‘satisfied’ with the 0-0 draw against Spain, but another two red cards were ‘over the top.’
The result keeps their chances of qualification alive, because Slovenia and the Czech Republic also drew 1-1 in the other game.
It means Spain have four points, Italy and the Czech Republic two, Slovenia one.
“I am satisfied, but I had no doubts the team would deliver,” Nicolato told RAI Sport.
“We put in a strong performance, we are happy with that. The most important thing was the attitude of the team.
“I saw the desire to surpass our limitations and face up to the best players at this level.”
There were two red cards in the opening game and another two in this match, as the referee completely lost control of the situation.
Gianluca Scamacca received a second yellow card for waving his arm in the general direction of Oscar Mingueza.
In the melee that followed Mingueza was shown a straight red and Nicolò Rovella a second yellow, even though again there was practically no contact when their heads came together.
“I am not the person to ask,” noted Nicolato when asked about those dismissals.
“I tend to be quite a calm presence. I might also be a little biased, but the red cards seemed a bit over the top.”