Andrea Pirlo is also pleased with the team’s performance: “it was a tough game, but we knew we could play well here. We put in a great performance, even though we conceded a controversial goal. As for my future, I like to do my talking on the pitch. There are too many rumors about me, but I still have fun playing, and I will keep playing until that mindset changes.” Antonio Candreva was without doubt one of the best performers on the pitch, not just because of his goal from the penalty spot. “We played well and showed character. Conte asked us for that just before kickoff. We deserved more from the game. My decision for how I took the penalty? Well, I thought about doing it, and I got lucky.” Candreva also talks about the lack of fair play that led to Croatia’s goal: “El Shaarawy had just scored, and we were ready to celebrate. The referee’s assistant then raised his flag, and Croatia restarted the play immediately, before scoring through Mandzukic. I don’t know if the rules allow the game to be restarted so quickly, but I think they showed a lack of fair play. We were celebrating taking the lead, but we ended up going behind a few seconds later, without even knowing why.” A spokesperson for the Croatian FA, Tomislav Bacek, apologized to Italy, and morally condemned the drawing of a swastika on the pitch.
The Italy national team will hold a training session tomorrow afternoon behind closed doors. The schedule from Sunday to Tuesday, concerning the upcoming friendly with Portugal, will be announced tomorrow evening. ]]>