Step back blue. In the result (but that, all in all, counted for little), in the game (which instead had a considerable weight) and above all in the value of the group. Yes, because the most discordant note of the defeat against Ireland is precisely the lack of response from the so-called second lines, unable to take advantage of the opportunity and authors of the worst match of our European Championship.
It must be said that the opponents had more motivation than us (with this victory they qualified for the round of XNUMX as third in the group) and this, beyond the facade declarations, always has its weight, yet we expected more from those guys right from the start. here little employed by Conte, in theory ready to do anything to earn a starting shirt.
“I have little to reproach them for – glossed over the coach at the press conference. – It was a very physical and tough game on a pitch that was almost impracticable, having said that I had the answers I was looking for. The only regret is that we lost it when we thought we had it, now let's turn the page and think about Spain. Looking at the scoreboard there is a crazy imbalance between the teams that are on the right and on the left, but there is a regulation and you have to respect it”.
It is unlikely that Conte can really be satisfied with the performance of his team, on the other hand the massive turnover has not helped the inclusion of many players not used to these levels and therefore already in difficulty regardless. Compared to the match against Sweden, the coach made 8 changes, with the exception of the untouchables Barzagli and Bonucci (the latter warned) and the all-rounder Florenzi, yesterday deployed as a midfielder.
Thus Italy 2 was staged on the bad lawn of Lille, too big a gamble (although amply justified) even in the presence of an Ireland that was anything but transcendental. The result was an ugly and mangy match, with many individual technical errors and few, very few emotions, on both sides.
In the first half it was O'Neill's 'greens' who created the biggest dangers, with Sirigu good at blocking Murphy's header after seeing Hendrick's shot just graze the top corner. Italy? All in a right-footed shot from Immobile, as well as in a heartfelt defensive phase and inferior to the previous ones. On the other hand, Buffon, Chiellini and De Rossi don't give themselves away easily, especially if Bernardeschi and Sturaro are not even remotely comparable to Candreva and Giaccarini.
In the second half the script remained the same, then, in the 75th minute, there was a shock that could have made it much more intriguing. Indeed, Insigne's entry brought flair and speed to an offensive phase that was insufficient up until then, demonstrating that the Neapolitan has shots and qualities like few (if not none) in the squad.
It's just a pity that his right-footed shot hit the post, otherwise we'd probably be talking about yet another blue victory, as well as the possibility of seeing him as a starter against Spain. Instead we have to comment on an opposite scenario, because in the 85th minute Brady took the time off Bonucci and Sirigu bringing Ireland to the round of XNUMX and leaving our team with a bad taste in their mouths.
The first defeat, however, remains painless: in fact, with Spain we will see a typical Italy again, as well as the underdog attitude that we like so much. "I leave these things to you, you are good at judging" Conte's piqued comment towards the press, as if it were a heresy to consider the Red Furies superior to us.
But the strength of this group lies precisely in the combative soul of its coach, much more at ease in the midst of storms than in the calm seas of compliments. To ensure that the fourth miracle succeeds (this would be what it would be about) you need to immediately find the eyes of the tiger, as well as cross your fingers and hope that everything turns right again.
