Despite a 3-1 loss to France in his first match, new Italy coach Giampiero Ventura is pleased with his first outing on the Azzurri bench.
The two heavyweights of international football met on Thursday evening in Bari for a friendly, with Graziano Pelle scoring the sole Italian goal, but the scoreline is irrelevant according to Ventura.
“I am satisfied because I have worked with this team for just three days and I feel I could not have done any more,” he told Rai Sport.
“We conceded some unavoidable goals, but this match was important to continue our momentum after the European Championship.”
They will play Israel on Monday night in their first qualifier for the 2018 World Cup, and Ventura is confident that they can get their qualifying campaign off to a good start.
“We will eliminate our errors, with all due respect Israel are not France and we are confident of doing well,” he said.