Experience crucial, says Casiraghi

Italy coach Pierluigi Casiraghi praised his side for their bravery and intelligence after beating hosts Sweden 2-1 in Helsingborg despite playing for nearly an hour with just ten men following Mario Balotelli's first-half dismissal. The result puts the Azzurrini in a commanding position ahead of their final Group A game against Belarus on Tuesday and left joint-Sweden coach Jörgen Lennartsson claiming "we deserved better". With Serbia still to come, though, he insisted: "Our chances are good and it is still in our hands."

Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italy coach
It was a very hard game even before the sending-off, then it became harder still. My team played a great game. I did not see Balotelli's foul, I need to watch it again. He can be a cross on our shoulders but he is also inspirational because he scored a wonderful goal and then made a big mistake. [Sebastian] Giovinco is an important player with lots of quality and is very important for us. He did some excellent things today. He is growing up and improving and now that Balotelli is suspended he will have an even more important part to play. Our tactics and experience were crucial after the sending-off and even in that difficult situation my players were very brave and intelligent and understood what to do.

Jörgen Lennartsson, joint-Sweden coach
I am very disappointed about the result. I think we deserved a bit better. I am proud of the mentality of my players, how they worked and their team spirit, so I am satisfied with that. We needed to score earlier to put Italy under pressure but we weren't good enough in the last 20 minutes in the Italian half. We had five, six or seven good chances but our quality with the last cross or pass was not good enough and that was why we did not win. We only have ourselves to blame. We started well and the first 15 minutes were excellent. Then we gave them the initiative which is when they scored.

In the second half the culture of their football and tactical thinking came into play. They can defend well and kill the tempo. We had the chances but were not skilful enough to take them. We can only congratulate Italy. We had conceded just one goal from a set piece, against France, in one and a half years. Today we missed a one-on-one against [Robert] Acquafresca – that happens in football. The first goal [from Balotelli] was an excellent shot, maybe we could have pressured him more but it was a good performance from him. Our chances are good and it is still in our hands. If we win [against Serbia] we are in the semis. We know they are a good side, but already in the dressing room we have forgotten this match and have put our focus and energy on to the next one.