Sports
EURO 2020: ‘It’s not over yet,’ Mancini warns Italy ahead of final
Agency Report
Italy coach Roberto Mancini warned his side “it’s not over yet” as the Azzurri beat Spain on penalties to advance to the Euro 2020 final on Tuesday.
“Credit goes to the lads, but it’s not over yet,” said Mancini after the 4-2 shoot-out victory in a match which had ended 1-1 after extra time.
“We have we to recover our strength, it was very hard. I knew it would be the hardest game of the tournament. It is the sixth, it would be it was tiring, but we wanted the final.”
Federico Chiesa’s curling strike put Italy ahead on the hour mark, but Alvaro Morata came off the bench and his 80th-minute equaliser forced extra time.
Morata missed a spot-kick as did Italy’s Manuel Locatelli who failed with the first attempt in the shoot-out.
“Penalties are a lottery,” said Mancini.
“It was a very hard game. Spain are a great team, they play very well. We had a good match, not quite like usual but we knew we would have to suffer.
“They put us in difficulty at the beginning, then we found the right way and we didn’t risk too much. It was a very tough match.
“We deserved to be here… It wasn’t easy, hardly anyone believed it and we got to the final.”
Italy, chasing a first European title since 1968, will meet either England or Denmark, who play on Wednesday, in London.
AFP
-
News23 hours ago
NFL star Tank Dell injured in Florida shooting
-
Politics23 hours ago
Imo ex-gov Ihedioha pays visit to Otti
-
News20 hours ago
Court slams Linda Ikeji N30m damages over libelous post against NBM
-
Crime24 hours ago
NDLEA busts man carrying 4,000 tramadol pills at Lagos airport
-
Metro23 hours ago
Lagos govt cracks down on illegal structures to curb flooding
-
Metro23 hours ago
Fuel queues return across states amid supply shortages
-
Education19 hours ago
WAEC exams to begin April 30
-
News22 hours ago
FCCPC partners ECOWAS, seeks Nigerians’ input to shape digital market