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Italy recovered from an early goal by Norway to beat them 2-1 and finish on top of the Group H in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers. Manager Antonio Conte said that he was impressed with the intensity and the nastiness shown by the European giants.
Italy have qualified as the top team in the group after they beat Norway 2-1 last night, a prospect which was unthinkable after the first few games in the qualifying campaign, owing to a rather slow start by the Italians.
Manager Antinio Conte was quoted as saying by the Guardian: a We did what we had to do. We didna t deserve to lose. I always want this intensity and this nastiness. Wea re on the right road. Ita s important to have this approach, whether you win or lose.a
Norway opened the scoring through Alex Tettey midway through the first half. However, Alessandro Florenzi and Graziano PellA? both struck for the Azzurri in the final 16 minutes in Rome to secure the top place in Group H, sending Norway into the playoffs and securing a chance to go to France in the summer.
Croatia,who had a point deducted for a swastika that was painted on the pitch before Junea s 1-1 draw against Italy in Split, finished second in the group with 20 points.
30 – Italy are unbeaten in 30 games in the European Championship Qualifiers, 24 wins. Mentality. #ItaliaNorvegia
a OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 13, 2015
Italy were without some of their key players against Norway, including midfielder Marco Veratti, but managed to show the strength of their squad with a win.
The Italians, however, miss out on the top seeding due to the fact that Belgium managed to win their final game, thereby, opening the Italians to the risk of being drawn against one of the top guns in France 2016 when the draw takes place in December, later this year. Conte will be hoping that his men show more of the same intensity and nastiness when they clash.