Luciano Spalletti had been dreaming of an altogether different debut as Italy head coach. However, like so many before him, world champions in Pozzo, Bearzot and Lippi included, his first game at the helm ended without a win. “The team played well,” Spalletti said. “We gave them very little. We just lacked the final touches to make our quality pay, that final pass was missing. After they scored, we could’ve made better decisions on the edge of their penalty area.” There was no shortage of difficulties, especially in the second half: “We missed out on a lot of goal kicks and second balls. We didn’t block as a team and their midfielders often won the ball from these.”

He only had six days to prepare for the game; now he has just three to recover for a big game against Ukraine. “The aspects we need to work on could be seen tonight. This is the only element that we really need to focus on. We’re a strong team, with great history. We’re a nation that continuously produces good footballers and we need to return to the level we’ve been at before and the quality that we have in Italy.”

Ciro Immobile’s 17th international goal – while wearing the armband for the first time - wasn’t enough. In October 2016, his brace saw Italy return from Skopje with all three points, this time not so. After the game, the Lazio striker didn’t hide his disappointment: “We need to be united right now. It’s how it is. We created a few chances despite the terrible pitch. We played well and did well to generate opportunities. It’s a shame. It went how it went and we need to keep working. We go again on Tuesday.”

Bryan Cristante is looking ahead to the Ukraine game too, which is a must-win: “It really hurts. We’re disappointed but there’s no time for that. We need to get straight back to work; we need to win on Tuesday.” The Roma midfielder, who was preferred to Locatelli, missed the odd chance tonight: “We didn’t finish our chances. Moments make the difference in football. There are always tough games at this level; we gave everything at the start of this new cycle.”

The post denied Sandro Tonali what would have been his first Italy goal: “It’s not the result we wanted. We played well but just didn’t manage the game in the last 15 minutes. We now need to roll up our sleeves because we have a vital game in a few days’ time.”