Italy managed to secure their opening victory after a tough battle against Angola.
Italy extended their perfect record against Angola in World Cup history to 3-0. They secured a victory during the 1990 9-16 Classification match and dominated with a score of 92-61 during the 2019 World Cup First Round.
Despite this, Angola demonstrated progress in its generational transition. However, their advancement wasn’t sufficient to overcome Italy in front of a crowd of 21,214 spectators at the Philippine Arena.
“I apologized to my players because I was completely under stress. I didn’t support them. I was negative. And they felt that. I really want to apologize to them. But they are amazing. They did what they had to do,” Italy coach Gianmarco Pozzecco said.
