Italy midfielder Bryan Cristante says the draw against North Macedonia ‘hurts’ but the team have to focus on the next game. The match, which was Luciano Spalletti’s first in charge of the national team, saw Italy dominate the pitch for large periods but only score once, ultimately ending in a 1-1 draw. The Azzurri find themselves off the pace for EURO 2024 qualification, sitting in 3rd place in Group C behind England and Ukraine, who they face on Tuesday evening.
Speaking about the performance in a post-match interview, Cristante said:
“It hurts a lot and we are disappointed, clearly we all wanted to win. Now there is not much time for disappointment but we have to roll up our sleeves to start strong again on Tuesday.
“In the first half we managed to score goals, then in the second half they did well to score on the only chance they had. In the national team you always struggle, there are always difficult matches and we didn’t have time to work and get together with the coach.
“Scoring goals is the most difficult part of football. We have created a lot and when we manage to materialise our chances it is clear that the games will go downhill”.
