The defeat threw the Czechs out of the World Cup as they needed at least a draw to secure their hopes of qualifying to the next round.

“Playing with ten men was just too difficult today, we also lost a lot of players before the game and had suspensions which hurt us,” Brueckner told a press conference after the game.

After defender Tomas Ujfalusi was sent off in the defeat against Ghana, the Czechs once again had to play with a man down against Italy after Polak was sent-off just before the half-time whistle.

“We had to play against two strong opponents with only ten men, it was almost impossible, we were also troubled by a number of problems including our own mistakes.” Brueckner added.

Meanwhile, Italy coach Marcello Lippi expressed his delight with his team’s qualification to the last 16 round, highlighting his players’ high spirit that lead to the win.

“We deserve to qualify, we played two great games to beat Ghana and Czech Republic, two very difficult teams,” Lippi said following the game.

“This team has a terrific spirit, probably the most fighting spirit I’ve had in any team.”

Italy wasted a number of golden chances to kill off the game before substitute Filipo Inzaghi sealed their victory with his first goal of the tournament in the 87th minute.

“One just has to be patient, because in this tournament every team has its chance, the important thing is to be ready to take your chances when they come.”

Lippi added that despite his happiness with topping their group and avoiding an early clash against Brazil, he isn’t much concerned of who he will face in the coming rounds.

“Finishing first was important for lots of reasons but even if we had to face Brazil we’d have given it our best shot.”

“Sooner or later you will have to face one of the favorites,” Lippi considered.