Gianluigi Donnarumma blames a long break for Italy’s rustiness during a disappointing 1-1 home draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina on Friday night.
Italy failed to overcome Bosnia in the opening round of the Nations League Group A1 fixtures at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
It was their first game after a ten-month break.
Despite seeing much of the possession, the Azzurri struggled to capitalize on their initiative. Edin Dzeko once again showed his ‘killer instincts’ to break the deadlock in the 57th minute.
Although Stefano Sensi managed to pull one back for the home side ten minutes later, Italy failed to complete a turnaround.
During the post-match interview, AC Milan shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma has praised Dzeko’s scoring abilities while blaming the long break for his team’s rusty display.
“After such a long time, the first match is always going to be complicated,” he said, as relayed by Football-Italia.
“We tried to play the ball and maintain the initiative. We did well not to lose our heads after going a goal down, but you’ve got to be so careful with Dzeko, as he will punish you when you leave the tiniest gap.
“Now we’ll try to make up for it in the next important match against the Netherlands.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm within the squad because we like being together and want to win.
Italy will take on the Netherlands at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Monday. The Oranje squeezed past Robert Lewandowski-less Poland in their Nations League curtain-raiser.
Steven Bergwijn’s 61st-minute tap-in made all the difference to propel the Netherlands to the top of the section.
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