Andrea Barzagli urged Italy to focus on beating Israel on Tuesday, because “we mustn’t lose faith in our journey” after losing 3-0 in Spain.
The Azzurri are now heading towards a play-off to enter the 2018 World Cup, as only the group winners go through directly.
“It was difficult, we knew that, and the quality of all their individual players emerged,” the Juventus defender told TMW Radio.
Andrea Barzagli urged Italy to focus on beating Israel on Tuesday, because “we mustn’t lose faith in our journey” after losing 3-0 in Spain.
The Azzurri are now heading towards a play-off to enter the 2018 World Cup, as only the group winners go through directly.
“It was difficult, we knew that, and the quality of all their individual players emerged,” the Juventus defender told TMW Radio.
“We needed the perfect performance to limit them, but they punished us at the first couple of chances. It’s a heavy result, but if we analyse the game overall, I don’t think we suffered that much. Mind you, when you lose 3-0, it’s difficult to find alibis.
“We mustn’t lose faith in our journey, as we still need to do what’s necessary to reach the World Cup. We played on a par with Spain the last few times, but we allowed them three or four extra openings and they punished us.
“We should’ve done better, both on the ball and off it. However, we continue to believe in what we’re doing and focus on reaching the play-offs. That second place isn’t mathematically locked down yet, so the next game with Israel is going to be fundamental. We must prepare and win.”
Christian Panucci’s Albania beat Liechtenstein 2-0 to close the gap from Italy to four points, while Israel lost 1-0 at home to Macedonia and remain in fourth.