Italy were recently defeated by Spain on penalties in the Confederations cup semifinal. They lost in the semi-final 7-6 on penalties, but Italy manager Cesare Prandelli has said that his players can take a lot of positives from this defeat.
He has said that the example shown by Spain over the course of the match can be a good lesson to his players, as they attempt to win the World Cup first time since 2006. Spain are one of the favourites to lift the Confederations cup after having won the World Cup once and the European championships twice in the last five years.
Italy and Spain have already met each other as recently as in the Euro 2012 final in which Spain once again triumphed Italy. However, it was a much improved performance from the Italians after they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat in the Euro 2012 final. Italy created the much better opportunities over the course of the match, but they were unlucky to take the lead. Spain were surprisingly lethargic throughout the match, but they came successful when it mattered the most.
Spain converted all the penalties, while the one miss for Italy proved crucial as new Manchester city signing Jesus Navas put Spain in the final against Brazil.
“They have been a great team these last years, they’ve shown continuity in their game, and we would also like to have continuity in our game. Tonight (Thursday) we’ve been up to the task, we’ve matched them stride for stride. We tried to play on the ground and we showed great courage and willingness. This match has been a great test for us, no doubt about that, and we passed it despite the result,” said Prandelli.
Prandelli said that Italy can take a lot of positives from the competition as well.