Hungary coach Marco Rossi was proud of his players after their Nations League defeat to Italy.
The hosts knew a draw would be enough in Budapest to win the Group of Death, having already beaten England and Germany, and reach the Final Four of the Nations League.
However, Giacomo Raspadori and Federico Dimarco secured the 2-0 Italy victory at the Puskas Arena.
“The Hungarian fans showed great respect and civility this evening, but I am not surprised by that,” said Rossi in his press conference.
“I’ve been in football for many years, I’ve seen packed stadiums and fans on their feet, but never anything like the passion you can feel when Hungary play on home turf.
“It would’ve been nice to perform a miracle tonight, but when you play against teams like Italy, you have to make zero mistakes and hope the other side get it wrong. Even when we did have the chances, we were kept out by the best goalkeeper in the world. It’s no coincidence that PSG signed Donnarumma.
“At the end I told him something I cannot repeat here, but just safe to say it was about being fed up with all those saves!”
He also said, “We can improve in the way we read the game, as it was clear Italy were pressing us at the right time. We should’ve broken up the tempo, gone for a long ball. There is the fashion now in football to build from the back, but when the opponent comes and presses that high, you need to get the ball out of there.
“There’s no searching for scapegoats, though, we win and lose all together and I am proud of the way the lads fought today, especially in the second half, when we had the Champions of Europe under pressure.
“As an Italian, I hope that Italy go on to win the Nations League.”
