The first goal has been met. Victory over Sweden secured qualification to the knockout round and Antonio Conte could also learn that Italy will top the group tomorrow. “Qualification makes us proud and we are living the dream at the moment,” said the coach. “We hit the woodwork, scored and we could have doubled the lead. I saw some anxiousness and nerves in the players, especially in the first half when we made too many mistakes. They did well to grind things out, to hang in there and do damage when the opportunity was there.”
At the final whistle, FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio paid compliment to Conte who was repaid for his continued faith in Eder. “In the third match, we will give playing time to those who deserve to play,” announced the coach. “They should all be commended for their willingness to struggle. The aim is to get where we deserve to be: no ifs, no buts.”
Sweden’s players also deserved respect for keeping the match tight with an organised performance even if they rarely threatened. “It was a difficult match, we certainly were more tired in the first half and they did well to get to the ball first. But we gave up virtually nothing, be it in the first half or the second.”
After commemorating the late Vincenzo Matarrese who was president during his time at Bari, the coach made an appeal to the fans: “Wear the blue shirt, it’s a strong symbol of our identity. There were 9,000 fans at the stadium but you could only see the Sweden colours.”
Eder scored the Azzurri’s winner with his third goal in Italy blue. It was a similar strike to Roberto Baggio’s at USA 1994, a formidable mix of skill and persistence. “That’s football,” said the Inter Milan striker who was also crowned man of the match, “in the course of a year, good things and bad things can happen but then you get these amazing moments. There are no easy games at this tournament, Sweden are a tough side. We kept believing, right to the end. Our strength is our team spirit; everyone celebrated together and that was the best thing.”
Simone Zaza was the man who set-up Eder for his goal thus celebrating his first appearance at Euro 2016 in the best possible way. “I threw myself at the ball because Chiellini says he knows how to make goals from throw-ins” said Zaza, “and then Eder did fantastically well to get away from his marker and score. On a personal level, I’m happy to have helped the team and above all to have made my first appearance at the tournament.”
A few minutes before Eder’s winner, Marco Parolo was a whisker away from putting Italy ahead. “It’s a shame it hit the bar,” admitted the Lazio midfielder, “I thought it was going in, but the win was what mattered in the end. The hot temperature at the start of the match drained us a little and Sweden pressed us and closed the space well during the first half”. Antonio Conte was on hand to give the players a bit of a talking-to at half time: “At half time, the boss let us know that we weren’t doing what we’d rehearsed, but then we picked ourselves up and in the end we deserved to win. Sweden gave us more space and the intensity dropped. We kept knocking on the door until Eder scored that fantastic goal. We’re going through on our own terms now.”
Giorgio Chiellini also had a big role to play in Italy’s win. As well as sticking tightly to Ibrahimovic, his long throw-in started the move which led to the goal. “Actually,” said the Juventus centre half, “it was down to Eder and Zaza, who showed their quality. I’m glad that Eder grabbed his moment in the limelight. Lots of Italians struggle to accept players who were born abroad – I’ve heard some horrible things – but they always give everything and they deserve respect”. The fact that Ibrahimovic didn’t return to haunt Italy this time was in large part down to the Azzurri defence: “He’s one of the best in the world; if it weren’t for Messi and Ronaldo, he’d have won all those Ballon d’Ors. Today, though, we all did well to contain him.”
Source: figc.it