Euro 2024: Italy coach wants defending champions to 'do dirty work' after barely making it to Round of 16

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti conceded that his side needs to 'do the dirty work' if they were to defend their Euro crown. The comments came after Italy's last-gasp equaliser against Croatia which earned them 1-1 draw on Monday (June 24) and a place in the Round of 16 as well.

"Whenever there is a challenge or a 50-50, we don't win any. It is not a technical question, it comes down to experience, getting into these physical challenges and being willing to do the dirty work. We need to improve on that score," Spalletti said.

The former Napoli coach came out all guns blazing in the post-match press conference in response to questions about Italy's performance in the match.

"We deserved to go through tonight in terms of what we produced out there. We were a bit soft at times during the game, we did not necessarily play our best football," Spalletti said.

"But it was hard to make it through this group. Spain are brilliant, Croatia are excellent. When you drop below the minimum standards like we did in the first half, it is because we feel the pressure of how important the game is.

"Because otherwise it is not possible (to play so poorly). But thus far everything they (the players) have done (at the Euros) has been getting better from my perspective," the Italian coach added.

The game was all but lost for Italy who were trailing 0-1 to Croatia till the 98th minute in the stoppage time. It was Mattia Zaccagni who then scored a goal in the final minutes to salvage a draw for the defending champions.

Italy, in three group stage matches, won one (2-1 against Albania) and lost one (0-1 against Spain) before the draw against Croatia.

They play the first R16 match against Switzerland on June 29.