U21 Euro 2007: Rosina looks for redemption

Italy playmaker Alessandro Rosina believes the Azzurrini are determined to rescue their underwhelming campaign in their final European Under-21 Championship Group B match against the Czech Republic tonight.

"These are tournaments in which no distraction is allowed because there is a major risk that you compromise everything - this is what has happened to us," said the Torino man, who pinpointed the failure to take anything from their opening game as crucial. "Against Serbia, despite the fact that we played well we ended up pointless, and against England, despite a fantastic second half, we paid dearly for our performance in the first 20 minutes. This certainly explains everything."

That haul of one point from their first two games has left the Azzurrini third in the table and staring at the prospect of elimination, and the 23-year-old admitted the five-time European champion had "committed some bad errors, because ultimately we have just one point. Each player has to look at himself, dig deep and pull out that little extra which is in each of us. We must put this extra effort at the service of the team, form a united block and recover with a victory."

One problem may be the failure of Italy's strikers to hit their best form although the gifted Rosina, who scored nine goals in 35 Serie A games this season, does not consider this the only reason for the team's stuttering form. "Obviously if we'd scored more goals we would be in a better position. We have had some problems, not just in attack, but now it doesn't help us at all to look back. We need to sort out what went wrong in the previous games, but we have to focus above all on the next game, which we must win – and hope that the other game will bring the result we want."

That "other game" takes place in Nijmegen with England playing group winners Serbia knowing victory will secure their place in the semi-finals behind their opponents, regardless of what Italy and the Czech Republic do in Arnhem. Rosina believes Serbia may use the opportunity as a chance to show what they can do, saying: "They have so many young players in their squad who want to prove themselves and who perhaps won't get that many chances to play in such big tournaments. Because they are doing well, they will give it their best until the final whistle."

Should Serbia win, a point against the Czechs could be enough to take Italy into the last four, although the player nicknamed 'Rosinaldo' in honour of his Brazilian-like ball skills recognises the Azzurrini have a tough assignment of their own, saying: "They got a draw against England in their opening match, and lost against Serbia in the final seconds. They are a very aggressive, well-organised team who do not concede space easily, so it won't be easy for us at all."

[U21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]