Italy’s match against England is decisive for the Under-21 European Championship, notes Gianfranco Zola, who tries to explain what went wrong.The Azzurrini knew they had a tough group when they drew Serbia, England and the Czech Republic, but the opening 1-0 defeat to the Serbs has left them in a precarious position.
"Against England we will be in for a very tough game, but if we want to go all the way then we have to prove that we deserve to," said the former Chelsea legend, who is now a consultant to coach Pierluigi Casiraghi.
"I have faith in our players and know they will take responsibility and react. Personally, I would love to see the same performance as we saw against Serbia, but by taking some of the many chances we create. This is going to be a decisive test."
Goalkeeper Gianluca Curci is a major doubt after suffering a groin strain and will undergo tests this evening to see if he can recover in time for Thursday’s clash.
"I watched the Serbia game back and it confirmed to me that we controlled the match, especially in the first half with numerous scoring opportunities. If we had opened the scoring, we’d be here talking about a totally different game."
Obviously the 1-0 defeat was criticised in the Italian media, but Zola assures it was only down to bad luck.
"There was no problem with the attitude or approach of the squad. In fact, I am sure this defeat will help us to grow in the coming challenges."
Goals seem to be the Azzurrini’s main hindrance, although they have talents upfront such as Giampaolo Pazzini – who scored a hat-trick against England at the new Wembley – Juventus’ Raffaele Palladino and Parma starlet Giuseppe Rossi.
It’s not purely an issue for Italy, as in the opening four games of the European Under-21 Championship, there were only two goals.
"It can seem strange, but at this level all the teams are at a decent level, so it’s hard to get through their defences. We just have to archive this setback and look forward."
[U21 Euro 2007 Championship Finals Schedule]
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