Prandelli: Italy must take risks

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli wants to "take risks" against Germany in their UEFA EURO 2012 semi-final, he said today, after Gli Azzurri made it through to the last four. "We have to take risks and not defend in our penalty area," he said at the team's base camp. "I'd prefer it if they (Germany) scored on the counter-attack than have us defend constantly for 20 minutes." Italy qualified for Thursday's semi-final in Warsaw after beating England 4-2 on penalties in Kiev yesterday. Prandelli said he wanted to continue with the tactics deployed in that game, which saw them push forward rather than defend. On Germany, Prandelli said they play with a lone striker, with wide midfielders who attack and give depth as well as a "false nine". "But tactical aspects is the least of our problems, we're still good at finding a balance," he added, pointing out that Italy had 68 percent of possession against England. "When you've got this capacity, you've got to exploit it," he said. Prandelli also said he was disappointed that Germany, who played their quarter-final last Friday against Greece, winning 4-2, had two extra days of recuperation than his players. "UEFA has to sort out the calendar problem. Either we extend the tournament or we find solutions. If not, we'll have less-than-entertaining finals," he added. FIFA.