Thursday, June 14, 2007

U21 Euro 2007: Matchday 2 Reaction

England manager Stuart Pearce underlined the positives of tonight's 2-2 draw against Italy in Arnhem which leaves his team second in Group B ahead of their match against already-qualified Serbia. However, Pearce's delight at seeing his men draw a game they had led 2-0 was validated by his opposite number's dismay – Pierluigi Casiraghi conceding this "was a bad result".

The point keeps the Azzurrini one behind England entering the final round of fixtures.

Stuart Pearce (England coach): It's a great result. Just watching it, it was a fantastic spectacle. After the first 20 minutes it might have been five or six-nil. I'm so proud of the players and all credit for Italy coming back. The players should be in that dressing room very proud of the spectacle they put on. It wasn't all about skill - it was about guts and determination. I'd like to have won, we were two up, but I think there's enough bad points to work on ahead of Sunday. It's in our hands now, we're still unbeaten and I hope to remain unbeaten in this tournament.

Pierluigi Casiraghi (Italy coach): It was a bad result. During the first 15 minutes we played badly. We committed a few mistakes, conceded twice and it could have been worse. But we played excellent in the second half, had about 30 shots and could have won. Both teams played tough, attractive football and gave the spectators a match to savour. There were four goals and I think the people here would have enjoyed it.

[U21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]

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