Mancini: “Nights like this happen; it will be a lesson for us”

Disappointed, Italy head coach Roberto Mancini told Rai after the 4-1 defeat to Belgium: "They were better. We paid too high a price physically and in one-on-one situations, despite starting well, but they were better than us."

Italy played very well for the first ten minutes before struggling in every area of the pitch. "Yes, we couldn't cover or press properly. They caused us problems and we paid the price physically. We certainly felt some fatigue from the match against France."

Even after falling behind, Italy offered no response. "These nights can happen. Unfortunately, things like this can happen as you work to improve, and you have to take important lessons from these matches. Given how we got here, we clearly had a chance of going through because we'd had a good run, but we knew it would be a difficult match. We're disappointed, but this is also a night we'll learn from."