Italy, first in group A, will travel to London to play at Wembley the round of 16 against the second in group C. With their 1-0 win against Wales, the 'Azzurri' team equaled their own record of matches without losing on Sunday , reaching 30 matches, equaling the mark of the 'azzurra' team led by Vittorio Pozzo in the 30s of the last century.
“It is a satisfaction to have equaled Vittorio Pozzo, a myth, but there are more important trophies that he achieved than these 30 games without losing. I'm happy because the players played a great game and it didn't affect us to make 8 changes to the eleven in one fell swoop, “said Roberto Mancini, Italy coach. Of those 30 games without losing, 25 wins and 5 draws.
The Italy of Mancini thus equaled that of Vittorio Pozzo, who achieved that record between 1935 and 1939. Pozzo was the coach who gave Italy its first two world titles (1934 and 1938). The last defeat of the current ‘azzurri’ occurred in September 2018 against Portugal (0-1).