The coach of the Albanian national team, Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior, spoke to Sky Sport, after the defeat against Italy, with the result 2-1. The Brazilian coach showed what went wrong, also giving credit to a great team like Italy.
"We were a bit nervous about the debut. It was not easy, as it is only the second European for us and we are a new team. We did no harm to Italy. It was difficult to keep under control midfielders like Barella and Jorginho", he said, referring to two of the best footballers of yesterday evening in the Italian team.
Sylvinho mentioned the case where Albania almost equalized, adding that the match was not easy. "Anyway, we stayed in the game and risked drawing at the end against Manaj. It was not an easy match, we were up against a great team. We always thought to stay in the game until the end, but it was very difficult to take the ball away from Italy", he said.
Sylvinho was aware that in the first 20-25 minutes the performance was not the best and that the challenge was very difficult. But, he said that the atmosphere was fantastic and that the footballers fought until the end for a draw.
"We must not forget that we have made a fantastic journey, with many sacrifices, to be in this European. Of course we work 12 hours a day for the team and we are here to win the matches, but of course I told the footballers to enjoy this chance to play in the European to the maximum", he concluded.
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