Italy´s self-esteem growing, says Maggio

Christian Maggio believes Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Spain at Euro 2012 has done wonders for Italy’s self-esteem.

The Azzurri were left reeling after losing 3-0 to Russia in their final Euro 2012 warm-up fixture and few pundits gave them much chance of getting a positive result out of their Group C clash with the reigning champions.

However, Cesare Prandelli’s men took the lead in Gdansk through Antonio Di Natale, only to concede an almost instant equaliser to Cesc Fabregas.

Despite the disappointment at failing to see out the game, Maggio insists that the Italians are now feeling reinvigorated and looking forward to Thursday’s crunch clash with Croatia with real confidence.

“The match with Spain was very good for our self-esteem,” the Napoli man said on Tuesday.

“We have started the Euros well and that is a sign that we have already turned things around after the Russia game.

“The match (against Spain) started well for us and if they hadn’t equalised immediately then we could have even secured all three points.

“But now we have to think about Croatia, a completely different team to Spain and in great shape physically.”

Italy’s meeting with Slaven Bilic’s side, who opened their European Championship campaign with a win over Republic of Ireland, will be played in Poznan.