Italy coach Cesare Prandelli says his team were fortunate to escape from their Confederations Cup clash against Japan with a 4-3 victory.
Italy came back from a 2-0 deficit to triumph on Wednesday, and were lucky to be awarded a penalty after a harsh handball call against Makoto Hasebe, not to mention a host of near misses from Japan, who were the better team for much of the game.
And Prandelli was left under no illusions as to his side's good fortune throughout the match, telling reporters: "Against Mexico we deserved (to win), but not today.
"We deserved that game against Mexico, but tonight we (were dealt) a crazy hand. In the first 25 minutes we did not understand what we had to do. There were times we did not play, and we were in trouble."
However, the 55-year-old did pin some of the blame for his team's display on the sweltering conditions in Recife, which he felt prematurely fatigued his team.
"It is really hard to play in this climate," Prandelli said.
"Here it is 80 percent humidity and crazy hot. We recovered (from the opening 25 minutes) but had no gas left."
But with a place in the last four secured, Prandelli chose to focus his attention on preparing his team for their final game against Brazil, the winner of which will finish in first place in Group A.
"Now you just have to recuperate ahead of the clash with Brazil," he said.
