It's now the time to look forward. The clear path through the group, the magic nights at the Olimpico, the applause and the praise for a team that likes to entertain should all be left behind. Because now the path becomes more complicated, and one misstep is enough to find yourself dealing with regrets. Roberto Mancini knows this, and so do the boys around him who will look to qualify for the quarterfinals of the European Championship by overcoming a confident opponent who, like Italy, managed to redeem their failure of not qualifying for the last World Cup. Austria are a solid team, well-coached by Franco Foda, they are made up largely of players accustomed to a tough and competitive league like the Bundesliga. A national team that, thanks to high and effective pressing, dominated the match against Ukraine for long periods and that, in addition to Alaba, possess interesting individuals such as Sabitzer or the young Baumgartner: "Austria are an excellent team - warned the coach – They are very aggressive and have technically and physically good players. It’s not easy to face them, they make you play badly because they press well”.

Fresh from a run of 30 unbeaten matches (25 wins and five draws), Mancini has the chance to beat Vittorio Pozzo's record tomorrow. And Italy can equal another record, that of the national team led by Ferruccio Valcareggi, who from 1972 to 1974 managed to keep a clean sheet in twelve consecutive matches: “We are calm - declared Mancini, adding that he still has a couple of doubts about his line-up - we can count on good players and whoever takes to the pitch will do what we’ve done up until now”.

After having the Olimpico host the first three matches of this travelling Euros, tomorrow Italy will play at Wembley, where 22,000 spectators are expected (25% of the capacity) of which about 1,200 are Italians residing in England. The stadium is linked to one of the most painful memories of our coach's career as a footballer, when on 20 May 1992 his Sampdoria was defeated by Barcelona in a European Cup final that was decided by Ronald Koeman in extra time: “It was one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world then and it is now. It is a temple of football; you have to respect it and play well. We would like to come back, but to do that we have to win the next two games”.

Leonardo Bonucci echoed the call to not underestimate Austria: “Tomorrow we play a very important match against a team that are difficult to face. But there’s a good atmosphere inside the dressing room, we know that our most fundamental element is the group. We have maximum respect for Austria: They have quality, freshness, and the physical abilities to play a great game. We don’t feel superior to anyone, we are confident that we are on an important path and the results show it, but we know that if we drop our attention for a moment we become a normal national team”.