Sports
Italy start quest for Euro berth
Italy start quest for Euro berth
DPA/Rome
Antonio Conte plays his first competitive game as Italy manager away to Norway Tuesday at the start of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. |
The former Juventus coach on Thursday made his debut with a 2-0 win in a friendly against the Netherlands, getting off on the right foot unlike his predecessors Giovanni Trapattoni, Marcello Lippi, Roberto Donadoni and Cesare Prandelli.
Per-Mathias Hogmo also steered Norway in a friendly a day earlier, losing 1-0 at England on a penalty converted by captain Wayne Rooney.
“On Tuesday we are in for a battle against a Norway who showed to be a tough opponent against England,” Conte said.
Conte quit Juve with three straight titles under his belt and took over Italy in mid-August after the group-phase elimination at the World Cup in Brazil under Prandelli.
His overhaul of the squad paid off against the Dutch, who played far below par under new coach Guus Hiddink.
At Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadion, Conte is likely to confirm Ciro Immobile upfront after he opened the scoring Thursday to net his first goal with the Azzurri.
The Borussia Dortmund signing, who last season was the Serie A top scorer on 22 goals for Torino, praised Conte’s knack for creating a group.
“I said in an interview that we failed being a group at the World Cup,” Immobile said. “This instead is a team of 27 players. We must stay united as we are now, and focused.”
Praise for his former club coach came from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who captains both Juve and Italy.
“Against the Netherlands we provided a good performance, which was probably unexpected, considering that in the previous two against Costa Rica and Uruguay (both lost 1-0 at the World Cup) we did not shine with intensity and brilliance of play,” Buffon said.
Missing from Conte’s defence are the injured Juventini Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, along with Andrea Pirlo and the suspended Claudio Marchisio.
With new Liverpool signing Mario Balotelli not in the squad, AC Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy and Roma’s Mattia Destro could have a chance upfront, although Simone Zaza of Sassuolo made a good debut next to Immobile.
Statistically, the Azzurri have the upper hand on Norway, with seven wins from 13 games, but the Scandinavians only lost once at home, winning twice and drawing as many times.
Also chasing the two qualifying berths from Group H are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Malta.