Mancini laments Italy's disappointment with Austria in first half

Italy head coach Roberto Mancini has admitted his 3-4-3 formation didn't work as expected against Austria as he criticized his team's poor performance in the first leg half time against the hosts.

The European champions ended 2022 with a defeat in Vienna, where two first-half goals from Xaver Schlager and David Alaba put the hosts in control.

A poor first-half performance was improved after the break but Italy were unable to break through the Austrian defense, although Mancini believes his side did enough to deserve praise.

"We were better in the second half, in the first half we had the ball and we had to score. After that we suffered, making so many technical mistakes. In the second half, everything what we were missing was a goal," he said after the game.

"The formation did not go very well, we did little pressing with the attackers who conceded too much space.

"The team was too long, we did badly and that penalized us a bit, but in the second half I saw a very good team. We were unlucky and we were a bit inaccurate."

Italy aren't expected to be back in action until March, where the defense of their European crown begins with the first qualifying game against England in a rematch of the 2020 final.