After three away wins in Israel, FYR Macedonia and Liechtenstein, Gian Piero Ventura’s side picked up their first home win of this World Cup qualifying campaign. The win against Gianni De Biasi’s Albania was more than deserved as the squad with its mix of ages confirmed its maturity. “We have made a small step forwards, at the start there was too much of a desire to force things and we weren’t fluid,” said Ventura. “But, apart from their shot at the very start, we didn’t run any risks. In the second half, we saw a better Italy. A real group is emerging, there are lots of new players and lots of young players but I saw all the ingredients to do something good in the future.”

Ventura did not make a single change in the match as he was satisfied with his side who kept looking to score at 2-0 up. “We played as a team, we all defended together” he added. “There’s still lots of room to improve, the boys will understand this when they look back on things and see what they could have done.”

It was Daniele De Rossi who opened the scoring with his 20th Italy goal which sees him move level with Paolo Rossi in goalscoring history. He scored again in Palermo where he also scored two key goals in 2004 and 2015 against Norway and Bulgaria. “It’s true that whenever I come to Palermo with Italy that I score,” said De Rossi. “This is a city which deserves great football and it always behaves incredibly when we play here in the Azzurri shirt.”

Marco Verratti also enjoyed an impressive performance next to the goalscorer in midfield. “I’ve always felt good with Marco, it’s a pleasure to play with him,” added De Rossi. “This is a serious group, we approach our tasks with a great sense of responsibility and even the youngest players are always willing.”

Verratti earned the applause of the Sicilian crowd and praise from his manager for his display. “We knew that it would be a difficult match,” said the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder. “We prepared well and played well. We could have scored more but we created a lot. The result is the most important thing as we follow our path, we are a great group and few national teams are as organised as ours.”

Ciro Immobile couldn’t be anything other than happy as his header and sixth Italy goal sealed the win. “It’s always a pleasure to work with this squad and to do what the manager asks of us,” he said. “It wasn’t a simple match but we took three key points.”

Source:   figc.it