Italy held by obdurate Czechs

Papadopulos chance
The visitors had the better start on a heavy pitch at the Matusa Stadium and Michal Papadopulos had the first opportunity to break the deadlock after eight minutes when his powerful left-foot shot from outside the penalty area whistled just over Gianluca Curci’s bar. Italy reacted late in the half only for Raffaele Palladino's shot from the area’s edge also to fly over and, soon afterwards, Parma FC midfielder Daniele Dessena came close to scoring on his debut but misdirected his header when found in space by Alessandro Rosina.

Pellè post
Casiraghi's side improved after the break largely as a result of the introduction of Giuseppe Rossi and Francesco Lodi, who were at their creative best. Both substitutes came close to scoring towards the end of the game while Czech Republic goalkeeper Josef Kubásek was forced into further saves from Graziano Pellè and Domenico Criscito, Pellè hitting the post with a header from Lodi's pinpoint corner five minutes from time. In their six games under Casiraghi's tenure the five-time European champions have now earned three wins and three draws.