Italy’s Prandelli pegs Spain as favourites

WARSAW – Cesare Prandelli scoffed at suggestions his Italy side would be favourites in the UEFA EURO 2012 final against Spain despite ousting Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals.Mario Balotelli scored a brace before a late Mesut Ozil penalty was cause for a nervy end. However, even though Germany were highly fancied to progress against the Azzurri, it was Prandelli’s team who proved the stronger side.Yet, that is not enough for the coach to believe his players have caught up with world champions Spain. Italy drew with the EURO holders in their opening group game and beat them in a friendly last year, but Prandelli believes they are still underdogs.“The favourites are Spain because they’ve been working for many years and they dominate every game,” said Prandelli. “There’s still a game to play, it’s tiring because it’s a short tournament and physical condition can play a part.“We’ll come up against a brilliant team who are always able to play their game and have shown that over recent years, so they’re favourites.”Although he was delighted with his team, Prandelli was annoyed they failed to kill off the game in the second half despite having a number of dangerous counter attacks. “We were very tired in the last ten minutes, not least because we played 120 minutes four days ago and it was a heavy pitch.“We had four chances to deservedly go 3-0 up, but we didn’t do it and in football it only takes one episode, a free-kick or a penalty, and it can put you in difficulty.”However, Prandelli said he believed it was the best performance his side has produced since he took charge two years ago, after Italy’s disastrous FIFA World Cup defence in South Africa, where they crashed out at the group stage without a win.

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Italy’s Prandelli pegs Spain as favourites