Donadoni was lambasted in the media for his decisions to field Massimo Ambrosini in place of Daniele De Rossi and Marco Materazzi in central defence for the 3-0 defeat.

"It is pointless to say whether it was the right decision or not, as we don't know what would've happened with other choices.

"If you say it was incorrect because we lost, then that is fine, but I still consider it too simplistic. In my view, it was not an incorrect line-up."

The big question marks were over Roma hero Daniele De Rossi's absence, as many expected him to start.

"I made a different choice. Daniele is a great player and has already partnered Andrea Pirlo. I did not exclude him because I consider them to be incompatible, but simply because I made another choice."

Italy now face an uphill struggle to qualify from the Group of Death, as Holland have three points with Romania and France on one.

"This defeat does not dent my certainties on the squad. Clearly it prompts me to make certain evaluations, but we must start again from this setback and it'll charge us up to face Romania and France.

"It was not a positive game and we have to analyse it in its entirety. Were we dominated? That's your evaluation."