Giampiero Ventura admits the friendly defeat to France saw “goals Italy don’t generally concede,” but is “optimistic” about Israel.
The Azzurri were beaten 3-1 by France at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, the fourth consecutive friendly they’ve lost to their cousins across the Alps.
“I have been working with this squad for only three days, so in that sense I’m fairly satisfied,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
Giampiero Ventura admits the friendly defeat to France saw “goals Italy don’t generally concede,” but is “optimistic” about Israel.
The Azzurri were beaten 3-1 by France at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, the fourth consecutive friendly they’ve lost to their cousins across the Alps.
“I have been working with this squad for only three days, so in that sense I’m fairly satisfied,” said the Coach in his Press conference.
“If I analyse the game, we conceded two goals that Italy generally doesn’t concede. It was an error from perhaps the best Italian player on the field and the second I won’t even comment on.
“In the first half we allowed very little, in the second something more, but against a side that was runner-up in Euro 2016.
“Antonio Candreva put in about 25 crosses from the right, so against a team that is this strong and at a more advanced stage in terms of fitness, I can’t not be satisfied.
“In football the results are what count, but I’d have been happy with such a determined performance. My optimism comes from the fact it’s not that difficult to take a step forward.
“Besides, I lost my debut in Bari to differentiate myself from Antonio Conte!” joked Ventura. “I wanted to show a change of course!”
The competitive debut is a 2018 World Cup qualifier away to Israel on Monday evening.
“We could’ve done better, it’s hard in three days and by Monday we’ll have had more time together. In a month it’ll be even easier.
“Only the top team in the group goes directly into the World Cup. Obviously, I’d have preferred it to be the top two. Perhaps it would’ve been better to start with a simpler friendly than taking on France.”
Ventura said he wants to implement a 4-2-4 system, but with so little time to prepare he relied on Conte’s Euro 2016 side.
“When I took this job, they told me the only problem would be time. They said there wouldn’t be much, but in truth there’s zero. It’s therefore inevitable to start out building on the work that was done beforehand. If you want to bridge the gap between teams, you do it with strong organisation.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma was given his debut and became the youngest ever Italy goalkeeper at the age of 17.
“I consider him a player of great promise. It would’ve been pointless bringing him along with us and not letting him play. He needs to get used to the air of the locker room and, if he does need to make an early mistake to learn, better in a friendly.”