Italy coach Roberto Mancini defended his players after their defeat to England in Naples.

The Azzurri began their Euro2024 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 reverse.

“The first half started well, even though they got back into it and scored two goals from set plays," said Mancini in his press conference.

“I saw an extraordinary team after the break, unfortunately we didn't get the 2-2, but so far we had always won and so statistically it had to happen eventually.

“We conceded two goals that were completely avoidable, we need to be more concentrated on set plays, especially as England are good in the air. We absolutely dominated the second half, without them having a shot on goal, whereas the first half was more balanced and we had difficulty building out from the back. They always found a way out.

“However, after the break we decided to do something different and that was better."

Mancini also said, “We changed the game with the players who were already there, then clearly fresh legs help eventually too. I think this is the positive, that we got angry at losing the game. We had always started strong in these qualifying campaigns and ended struggling, now we hope to do things the other way around.

“There are still nine games to go. Italy-England can end in a defeat, there are other teams in the group, more matches to be played. We aren't used to building momentum, but it might be a positive for us."