Last night Italy secured their qualification to Euro 2012 with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Slovenia. Coach Cesare Prandelli was obviously satisfied, although he admitted more work needs to be done to make the Azzurri competitive at the highest level again.
“We did well, we always managed to have supremacy in the middle of the pitch, even when we were a bit unbalanced,” he told Rai.
“When we did find more balance in the second half, I decided to use a three-man attack. It was a victory of courage. The team was positive and wanted to keep the ball possession, we have to continue working on this path.
“The attack? The lads need to learn to attack the penalty area more during the match. However, [Daniele] De Rossi as a midfielder attacked the spaces well and that was nice to see.”
On the performance of Mario Balotelli, who was brought on in the second half, Prandelli added: “We have to let him grow with tranquility, but I saw he was concentrated and alert.”
Finally, on the disappointing crowd attendance at the Artemio Franchi, he commented: “It’s a difficult period, but based on our performances we will attract more people to the stadium.”
Italy joined Germany and Spain, who also qualified last night, as the first teams to qualify for next summer’s tournament.
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This article was originally posted by Danilo Pochini
