Italy coach Prandelli happy to escape Estonia with victory

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli admits his players were shorn of confidence for their Euro2012 victory in Estonia.

Prandelli revealed at half-time the Italy squad was “totally without confidence” before turning the Euro 2012 qualifier around.

“It's a great feeling, especially as in the locker room the lads were totally without confidence,” he said of the 2-1 victory in Estonia. “I told them we could win it, as we were playing pretty well, and we had a good reaction after the break.

“I told them to speed up the play, as we had the right idea, but weren't moving it quickly enough.”

It is Prandelli's first win on the bench, but also Italy's first victory of 2010 after a seven-game winless streak.

There were more big question marks over the Azzurri, though, as Estonia went into the break 1-0 up and hit the crossbar.

“Having wide men like that meant we were bound to run a few risks on the counter,” said the Coach. “We allowed ourselves to be taken by surprise on so many set plays and also counter-attacks.”

Antonio Cassano scored one and set up the second for Leonardo Bonucci with his backheel flick, while Giampaolo Pazzini was his strike partner.

“Right now Cassano and Pazzini are the strikers who are sharpest.”