Italy head coach Roberto Mancini praised his players for handling the pressure well after his side claimed an emphatic 3-0 victory over Turkey in Friday night’s Euro 2020 opener in Rome.
Merih Demiral’s own goal early in the second half gave Italy a deserved lead and further goals from Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne served warning that Mancini’s side are genuine contenders.
Mancini said in his post-match press conference: “It wasn’t easy because it was the opening match at the Olympic Stadium, with the fans behind us.
“After we conceded the first goal we just really got distracted and lost control of the game.
“I can say, technically speaking, we had a very strong Italian team. I’m not very satisfied with the score. I was expecting better football here.
“But even if we lose or win, the competition will continue. We just lost against a host team and we have two more important games against Wales and Switzerland.
“We’ll tidy ourselves up and will start to prepare for those. Italy used the pitch very well, they just kept the ball and physically we fell from the game.”