Conte: Italy will be proud of this team

Antonio Conte took plenty of positives from his team’s performance as Italy played out a 1-1 draw with Spain in Udine.

Conte confirmed he would stand down as national team coach at the end of Euro 2016 earlier this month, but he was keen to see a response from the Azzurri following a 2-2 draw against Romania in November.

The former Juventus midfielder was satisfied with much of what he saw in the friendly, with the exception of Aritz Aduriz’s controversial equaliser, as recalled duo Thiago Motta and Lorenzo Insigne shone.

On their first international appearances since the 2014 World Cup, Motta turned in a dominant midfield performance while Insigne came off the bench to give Italy a deserved lead.

“I wanted to win. It’s a shame we conceded a goal on a set-piece again, even though it was offside,” Conte told Rai Sport.

“Beyond that we have shown a good attitude. I got the answers I was looking for against a strong team such as Spain.

“Now we have to continue working with humility by focusing on the enthusiasm and desire of these guys.

“I cannot ask for more in terms of attitude in training. I can assure all Italians that we will be a team.

“This is a great group of guys , they love this shirt and they want to play for Italy.

“I always want to win, so the result is disappointing.”