Federico Chiesa walked out on to the Wembley pitch with six minutes of normal time remaining and this tight, fretful last-16 tie still goalless. The story of the game to that point had been a finely wrought defensive performance from Austria, who showed great resolve against a team most expected to simply blow them away.
The final whistle came as a relief to Italy’s players, who fell into an angsty-looking huddle around their manager. Roberto Mancini’s message was clear even from the sidelines. Take a breath, reset the throttle. And Italy did find another gear.
Written by Barney Ronay at Wembley
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jun/26/italy-austria-euro-2020-match-report under the title “Italy find something extra from Matteo Pessina to see off Austria”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
