Former Juventus and Italy forward Alessandro Del Piero believes that the scare Italy were given against Austria will serve them well in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.
Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri needed extra time to overcome Austria and very nearly saw themselves eliminated in 90 minutes, only saved by VAR as Marko Arnautovic saw a goal ruled out for offside.
“We expected something different from Italy, and also from Austria, who surprised us,” Del Piero told Sky Sport Italia. “We were lucky with the disallowed goal. We were given a real scare, but it can be positive. When everything goes well, you’re less ready when something goes wrong, it’s normal.
“We’re happy to progress. We’ve lost about two kilos with the tension.”
In extra time, goals from substitutes Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina saw Gli Azzurri into the quarter-finals.
