Italy boss Antonio Conte plays it cool ahead of Ireland test

Italy’s pre-match sentiments tend to be dominated by battle cries, but on this occasion, Antonio Conte seemed satisfied to reserve the emotive language for his opponents Ireland.

Given all the pressure is on Martin O’Neill’s side to deliver an unlikely win to prolong their stay at Euro 2016 beyond tonight, the Chelsea-bound boss didn’t need to engage in any psychological warfare.

His words were anything but condescending, instead spoken with the authority of a man whose duels with the Irish stretch back to the 1994 World Cup, when Italy were stunned by Ray Houghton’s winner at the Giants Stadium.