Italy has become one of the favourites at the European Championship after winning all three of its games in the group stage, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Those three victories extended the team’s unbeaten run under head coach Roberto Mancini to 30 games — matching the previous record set in the 1930s.

Austria, which has reached the Round-of-16 at the continental competition for the first time, will get its chance on Saturday (Sunday in IST) at Wembley. “Initially, it seemed to be an insurmountable and impossible challenge for us because Italy hasn’t lost for an eternity,” said Foda.

“But sooner or later, even Mancini’s team will lose,” added Foda. Besides the unbeaten streak, Italy will try to set another record. The team has not conceded a goal in 11 matches, a total of 1,055 minutes. If Austria fails to score, Italy will surpass the record of 1,143 minutes that was set between 1972 and 1974.

For a nation that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Italy’s recent results are quite remarkable.

“It is something that makes us proud, especially considering what everyone thought of us before the tournament started,” Italy forward Lorenzo Insigne said ahead of the last-16 match.

“But we have to stay focused, calm and think about ourselves. We haven’t done anything yet. Our objective is to go all the way, it wasn’t to just get through the group stage,” added Insigne.

In the first game of the Round-of-16 stage, Denmark will face Wales at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam on Saturday.