Rossi: We need to play the perfect match against Italy

Bálint Vécsei, formerly of Italian clubs Bologna and Lecce, was quick to say he was very happy to return to the country and would be extra-motivated to perform well this evening, if selected by Rossi.

"We are tactically well prepared for Italy, because we've analysed several of their matches so we know where they might be vulnerable. We want to repeat the good performance and great result against England. We made a lot of progress against England in terms of possession of the ball, in situations we'd created, so we want to prove that it wasn't just a one-off. Success is always good for the team, but we have to keep our feet on the ground, because we will have to give 100% against European champions Italy to get points", Vécsei emphasised.

Meanwhile, Hungary head coach Rossi admitted it would be a special experience to be an opponent in his own country, but that he was returning home with good feelings and had already spoken to his friend Roberto Mancini, his Italian counterpart with whom he had played at Samporia. Rossi understands from that conversation that the Italians respect the Hungarian national team, and that this in itself is a great feeling for him:

"We've had little time to recover from the match against England, so the last two days have been about rest and trying to regain our strength," Rossi noted. "The players are all in good condition and we still have 24 hours until the match. A lot of factors have to come together for a good result against Italy. We have to play the perfect match and we can’t make mistakes, but if our opponent has a good day, we still wouldn’t have a huge chance. Luck is also an important factor in football and we will need it in the match. Against England, we could see that miracles do happen in football, but they rarely repeatedly happen. We'll do everything we can to win, but we need to think realistically and objectively after last weekend’s win; that the important thing is to play well tomorrow. We weren't ashamed of other national teams being stronger than us at the European Championships, and we have the same goal now", Rossi concluded.