Italy coach Marcello Lippi was satisfied with his team's performance in last night's 2-2 draw with Austria.

Alberto Gilardino and a goalkeeping howler allowed Italy to fight back from 2-0 down after Emanuel Pogatetz and Marc Janko had put the Austrians ahead.

"It was lovely to be back, although less so to be 2-0 down! I wasn't used to that," Lippi said.

"We did some good things in the first half and created positive chances, but went 2-0 down due to some distractions. Austria may not have as much quality, but they have great physique and used their strength.

"We increased the pace and the speed with which we passed the ball, especially in the second half, and you could see the difference."