Italy aim to take next step
Thursday, May 5, 2005
Article summary
Group A preview: Hosts Italy and a free-scoring England side will want to make progress with victories today.
Article body
By Paolo Menicucci in Tirrenia
After winning their opening games in Group A, Italy and England have the chance to book a place in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship semi-finals when they face Belarus and Turkey respectively today.
No easy task
The hosts defeated Turkey 1-0 with a second-half strike by Andrea Russotto, but the Azzurrini saw their goal peppered with shots. Coach Francesco Rocca is expecting another tough task when his side play Belarus in Castelfranco di Sotto.
Taking no chances
"I think the game against Belarus will be very difficult for us because it will be their last chance to keep their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals alive," he said. "We have to focus on addressing what we did wrong against Turkey."
Turkish strength
Rocca said his team were not as physically strong as Turkey but he is confident his players can improve during the tournament, especially after watching them raise their game in the second half on Tuesday.
Final target
"I believe my boys can grow during the tournament," he explained. "We have worked very hard on the physical preparation ahead of the finals and proved to be fit by playing much better during the second half of our match against Turkey. After the first match our goal remains the same: we want to go all the way in the tournament."
Belarus still hopeful
Despite their 4-0 defeat by England, Belarus coach Piotr Mikheyeu has not lost hope of making the last four, but his side cannot afford another reverse. "We will try to solve the problems we had against England as quickly as possible. It is just the start of the tournament and we still have two games to go," he told uefa.com.
Squad rotation
England's performance was arguably the most impressive of Matchday 1 and John Peacock's squad are considered by many the favourites to lift the trophy next week. "It was a question of getting the job done. We knew we would have to rotate our squad to get to the next round and that is what we are going to have to do," the coach said.
'Massive game'
Peacock, however, expects a close encounter against Turkey in Pontedera. He said: "It is a massive game. We have got over one hurdle, we now have another two to overcome, and we look no further than Turkey." England, who will know for sure that victory will take them through provided Italy do not lose the earlier match, will have midfield player Mark Davies back from suspension.
Avci confident
Turkey coach Abdullah Avci insists his team must avoid further mistakes. "The game against England will decide our future in the competition," he said. "If we lose, we will be eliminated. We are here to play as many games as possible and we hope that our tournament will not finish early. I'm confident we can still qualify."