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Donadoni rues Italian "mistakes" against Dutch

10/06/2008

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni has admitted his side made "mistakes" as they opened their Euro 2008 campaign with a disappointing 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands.

The rampant Dutch dominated the Italian side in Bern with two goals in six first-half minutes, including a controversial Ruud van Nistelrooy close-range toe-poke and a superb team counter-attack finished off by Wesley Sneijder.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst completed the scoring ten minutes from time to give the Dutch a famous win over the World Cup holders.

But afterwards Donadoni, whose job was already under pressure after a lacklustre qualification campaign, said his own players had fallen short of their own high standards and he expects an improvement in the next game against Romania on Friday.

"In the first-half we conceded two goals from mistakes, but despite that we were not overrun by Holland," Donadoni told Italian TV station Rai.

"We have made mistakes in our approach to the game, but the guys will respond positively.

"We were also short on luck throughout the game."

Despite the setback, Donadoni remains confident Italy can still qualify from what is perceived as being the toughest group in the competition.

"I don't deny the facts - we have not started well - but we must look forward to the next two matches and try to do our best," he added.

"Against Romania [on Friday], we have to recover our mental strength."