Italy’s players spoke of their victory against England as a feat of endurance and unity after an enervating 90 minutes in Manaus.
The Azzurri’s 2-1 win was played amid searing heat in the Arena Amazônia and their manager, Cesare Prandelli, complained that Fifa’s decision not to grant the players breaks was “madness”. In the circumstances, the Italians were keen to play up the significance of their achievement, sealed by Mario Balotelli’s 50th-minute header.
“This game was very difficult due to the climate and because England are strong,” said Balotelli. “Italy always suffers, this is typical of our national team but the win is the important thing and we did it.”
The Milan striker’s goal, scored from close range after Antonio Candreva’s cross, came on his first World Cup appearance. He dedicated it to the onlooking Fanny Neguesha, to whom he became engaged on Monday.
Claudio Marchisio, whose 22-yard shot opened the scoring in the first half, was another to prioritise the heat in his summing-up.
“The most important thing was to get off to a good start with a win, especially on a day when playing football was difficult: at times the heat seemed to give you hallucinations,” said the Juventus midfielder. “But this team has character, and in the end it resisted.”
It was a refrain echoed by Andrea Pirlo, the 35-year-old playmaker whose dummy created the space for Marchisio to beat Joe Hart. Pirlo, who gave his customary passing masterclass – completing 108 and misplacing five – also expressed contentment as the development of his partnership with the young Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, the pair winning their battle with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson in the centre.
“It was a courageous Italy, one that wanted to play well and impose its game,” said Pirlo. “We had a good game despite the terrible heat, and we must know that we are a strong team. “I found things very good with Verratti, and we just need to continue in the same way.”
Verratti was one of two PSG players in Italy’s starting lineup. The other, Salvatore Sirigu, was called up to the team with a few hours’ notice after the first-choice goalkeeper and captain, Gianluigi Buffon, failed to recover from an ankle injury. Sirigu made a number of solid saves, denying Ross Barkley and Leighton Baines late on, and said that preparations for his unexpected ninth cap had been far from straightforward.
“I had a few messages and phone calls when I learned that Gigi wasn’t playing,” said Sirigu. “I talked a bit with my family in order to calm myself. The rest, I did with this large group – your team-mates help you to overcome personal difficulties.
“I saw Buffon in the morning. It was hard to hide that I was happy to be playing, but he told me: ‘I am happy not to be too badly hurt and, especially, that you are playing.’ This helped me a lot.”
Buffon has five days to prove his fitness before Italy’s second Group D match, against Costa Rica in Recife on Friday.
