Italy coach Antonio Conte said he
was satisfied after his side drew 1-1 with England in a friendly
in Turin on Tuesday.
The Italian media also agreed that Conte had many
positives to take from the match, after Saturday's worrying 2-2
draw with Bulgaria in Sofia that saw the Azzurri drop two points
behind leaders Croatia in Euro 2016 qualifying Group H.
"Conte wins, Italy almost," read the front-page headline
of Wednesday's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Forward Graziano Pelle gave Italy the lead with a glancing
header in a first half dominated by the hosts.
But England came back in the second half and snatched a
draw thanks to a powerful late strike by substitute Andros
Townsend.
"It was a prestigious friendly against a side with many
excellent players, but we competed well and I'm happy with our
performance," said Conte, who got a warm reception on his return
to the Juventus stadium after leading the Turin side to three
consecutive Serie A titles before quitting last year.
"It was a fair result. We struggled a little in the second
half.
"We must not forget England had won seven (consecutive)
matches before coming here.
"We're still working to help this squad develop".
The run-up to Saturday's match in Sofia was soured by a
row between the national team and Juve over a knee injury
midfielder Claudio Marchisio suffered in training.
The problem looked set to sideline Marchisio for months,
but it turned out to be less serious than feared and he should
be back in action soon.
There was also a row over Conte calling up two
foreign-born players of Italian descent - Sampdoria's
Brazilian-Italian striker Eder and Palermo's Argentinian-Italian
attacking midfielder Franco Vazquez for the matches.
Conte was criticised by, among others, Inter Milan coach
Roberto Mancini, even though many so-called 'oriundi' have
helped Italy achieve success in the past.
But Eder vindicated Conte's decision, scoring a splendid
goal that earned the Azzurri a draw in Sofia and producing a
man-of-the-match display against England.
Vazquez also laid on a couple of good chances when he came
on as a substitute in Turin.
The coach can also take encouragement from the performance
of Pelle, who was called up even though he has not scored for
his club Southampton so far this year, and by some experimental
selections.
These included debutant Mirko Valdifiori, who gave a
credible display in the midfield playmaker role usually held by
Andrea Pirlo.
"Everyone needs to know that, with me at the helm,
national-team places only go to people who deserve them,
regardless of their name," Conte said.
"I don't look at CVs, I look at what people do on the
pitch.
"Valdifiori deserves to be in this squad. I need people
like him and Eder, people who honor the colours, who give
everything and have pride".
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