Cesare Prandelli saw “a great Italy” against the Czech Republic and celebrated their qualification for the World Cup in Brazil.
It’s the first time ever that the Azzurri have qualified for a World Cup with two rounds to spare and they are already at the 2014 tournament along with Holland.
Cesare Prandelli saw “a great Italy” against the Czech Republic and celebrated their qualification for the World Cup in Brazil.
It’s the first time ever that the Azzurri have qualified for a World Cup with two rounds to spare and they are already at the 2014 tournament along with Holland.
“I saw a great Italy. We conceded on one counter-attack, which was what they wanted, but we created four scoring opportunities in the first half and I said we had to keep believing,” Prandelli told RAI Sport after the 2-1 victory.
Prandelli started out with a 3-4-2-1 system, but switched to a 4-3-3 after the Czech Republic’s opening goal scored by Libor Kozak.
“The idea was to have more men in the middle and not suffer so many counters. It went well and the players did the right thing.”
Italy went into the break 1-0 down after Mario Balotelli hit the bar and missed several sitters, but the Coach revealed his advice.
“I didn’t think anything, as in those moments a striker can miss. It’s a split second. I told him to stay calm, as he was doing very well.
“This is a special team because in my view we know our limits and try to emphasise our qualities. We achieved that over the years and want to increase our belief that we can do even better.”