'Unlucky' Italy keep Donadoni believing

Improvement
Italy are third in Group C, level on points with fourth-placed France, and although a score draw when the teams meet in Zurich on Tuesday will be enough if Romania lose to the qualified Netherlands in Berne, realistically they need to win and hope the Romanians don't. Donadoni's belief stems from Friday's display at the Letzigrund Stadion, which he considered a huge improvement on their opening 3-0 defeat by the Dutch.

'Played well'
"We played well, created lots of chances, pushed forward and worked hard against a really tough side," Donadoni said. "We all know how well Romania did in their qualifying matches – they won against the Netherlands, drew their other match against them, and finished top of the group. They also drew with France in their first game here, so we did well. They didn't have that many chances and played quite defensively but were dangerous on the counterattack. They threatened occasionally but in the main we created most of the chances and were unlucky that the bounce didn't quite fall our way."

Focus on France
For things to go Italy's way on Tuesday, they want the Netherlands to perform at their best against Romania – although, unflappable as ever, Donadoni would not be drawn on matters beyond his influence. "I'm not thinking about the other game," he said. "I'm only interested in our game against France. Whatever will be elsewhere, will be. We have the chance to qualify if we beat France and that's what we'll try to do at all costs. We have a crucial match and I saw a very positive reaction in training this morning which suggests the boys are ready for one last push which will be decisive one way or another."

'Fresher legs'
Donadoni added that he has no intention of changing his formation against Les Bleus and will only give serious consideration to the individuals who will form his trusty 4-2-3-1 lineup. "I changed five players for fitness reasons against Romania and knew that fresher legs would give us more scope to push forward against Romania," he said. "It also gave others a rest ahead of the match against France."

Strikers backed
However, with the Azzurri having scored just once in Switzerland so far – through defender Christian Panucci – there is concern in the Italian press that the forwards are off form. Donadoni dismisses any such notion. "In theory, playing Luca Toni and Alessandro Del Piero up front should have brought an avalanche of goals because they were the top scorers in Germany and Italy last season. But football doesn't always work out that way and you can't blame them for not scoring. I don't care who scores, so long as we do," he said.