Monday 14th June - 19.30 - Cape Town
Italy 1 - 1 Paraguay
Sunday 20th June - 15.00 - Nelspruit
Italy 1 - 1 New Zealand
Thursday 24th June - 15.00 - Johannesburg
Italy 2 -3 Slovakia
| Pld | Pts | GD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paraguay | 3 | 5 | +2 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 3 | 4 | -1 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Italy | 3 | 2 | -1 |
New Italy coach Cesare Prandelli officially took over in charge of the Azzurri yesterday and immediately started planning for the future, hoping the team can put the disappointment of the World Cup behind them.
We have known for some time that Prandelli was leaving his position at Fiorentina to take over from Lippi and hopefully this has given him the chance to assess the state of the squad and he is ready to make the changes that are necessary to bring Italy back to the top of the International game.
Despite only needing a draw, Italy are out of the World Cup after a 3-2 defeat to Slovakia saw them finish bottom of Group F. Italy's downfall was once again their inability to keep the opposition out coupled with a distinct lack of quality in the final third. After falling behind for the third game running, the Azzurri only really looked capable of getting the result they needed in the final twenty minutes after the introduction of Pirlo and Quagliarella.
Lippi has said he takes full responsibility for the early exit and while Italy were never expected to do as well as in Germany, I have been puzzled by some of his selections and tactics. He never seemed to know what his best team was or what formation to play - and even when they were playing well against New Zealand he made changes and the team lost their edge. In attack, where Italy struggled throughout, he kept changing his strikers, except, inexplicably for me, Iaquinta, who played the full 90 minutes of each match and was once again completely ineffective.
With a change of manager, Italy must now do what they should have done two years ago and re-build the team, a younger more hungry team built around the few of the current crop that have shown their class - the likes of De Rossi, Chiellini and Criscito.
As in their first game, Italy could only manage a 1-1 draw after falling behind to a goal from a set piece and will almost certainly have to beat Slovakia on Thursday to qualify for the last sixteen.
The Azzurri were behind after only seven minutes, and although the goal by Shane Smeltz was scored from an offside position, Italy should have defended the free kick better. Italy responded well, and equalised from the penalty spot through Vincenzo Iaquinta after De Rossi had been pulled back by a defender. Another goal looked inevitable as Montolivo crashed a long range effort against the post but somehow New Zealand held on for half time.
Strangely, despite Italy's dominance, Lippi decided to make two changes at half time, replacing Gilardino and Pepe with Di Natale and Camoranesi. As a result, they lost their width and impetus and despite monopolising possession, they created little and New Zealand held on for a well earned draw, the greatest result in their footballing history.
Italy should still manage to beat Slovakia to qualify but they have certainly disappointed in both games so far. Pirlo will hopefully be back for that game and, for me, should replace the ineffective Marchisio with Montolivo moving out to the left and Pepe staying on the right. Fingers crossed on Thursday that Lippi gets it right and Italy put in a strong performance.
The reigning champions had to settle for a draw in their first group game with Paraguay after trailing 1-0 at half time. A 40th minute header by Alcaraz gave Paraguay a lead they held until the 63rd minute when Danielle De Rossi equalised from a corner after an error by the goalkeeper. Despite some late pressure from the Azzurri, the South Americans held on for a well earned point, a result which both teams will probably be content with given that their next two games are against weaker opposition.
Italy have often been slow starters at major tournaments and created little in the first half despite controlling possession. While conceding to a header from a set-piece is not expected by an Italian defence, sometimes you have to hold your hand up and say that it was just a well taken goal. A good ball in and a superbly timed run and leap cannot always be defended against, and as a result Italy found themselves behind before half time.
The second half saw a much better performance from Italy as a more recognisable 4-4-2 formation saw them speading the play much better as they found space in behind the Paraguay midfield. The improvement was rewarded with a goal, albeit from goalkeeping error. Pepe's corner from the left was missed by a flapping Villar leaving De Rossi with the simple task of tapping into an empty net.
Although Italy would have been hoping for a win, avoiding defeat, especially after falling behind could be crucial as I'd still strongly fancy them to win the group ahead of Paraguay. The second half performance of Montolivo and the strong showing by Pepe and Criscito can be taken as positives into the next game. The only real concern would be over Buffon who was replaced by Federico Marchetti at half time, presumably due to injury. We will have to wait and see what the news is on that one but hopefully it was just a precaution.
With just a few days to go until the big kick off it is time for our predictions for Italy and the rest of the tournament.
With a fairly settled squad, the big news from the Italy camp this past week has been the injury to Andrea Pirlo and the timing of his recovery. It now looks likely that he will be fit for the final group game against Slovakia but Lippi will probably be hoping that this will be a gentle run out for the final half hour or so, with Italy already safely through to the knockout stages.
Given the opposition, Italy should indeed progress with ease - even if they get off to a slow start, as they often do, against Paraguay. If they win the group, which I believe they will, the Azzurri will probably avoid Holland who are bankers to win Group E. Beyond this lies a quarter final against possibly Spain or Brazil.
Anything can happen in the knockout stages and Spain have disappointed in the past but I feel a match up with either of these two could mean an early trip home for the holders. Italy's best hope in such games will probably be grinding out a draw and snatching a win in extra time or a penalty shoot-out.
Group F predictions
Italy 2 - 1 Paraguay
Italy 3 - 0 New Zealand
Italy 1 - 0 Slovakia
Group F winners - Italy
Group F runners-up - Paraguay
Tournament predictions
Winners - Spain
Runners-up - Holland
Italy knocked out - quarter-final by Spain
England knocked out - semi-final by Holland
Golden boot - David Villa (Spain)
Marcelo Lippi has revealed his final 23 man squad for the South Africa. The players left behind will be disappointed but none of them can be too suprised by the decision.
Of the players left out, strikers Giuseppi Rossi of Villarreal and Marco Borriello of AC Milan can feel slighty unlucky, especially as Vincenzo Iaquinta has been included at their expense. Iaquinta has never convinced at international level and after a poor season at Juventus I can only imagine he is a Lippi favourite.
Here is the squad in full;
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)
Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli)
Defenders
Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus)
Giorgio Chiellini(Juventus)
Domenico Criscito (Genoa)
Salvatore Brocchetti (Genoa)
Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Christian Maggio (Napoli)
Leonardo Bonucci (Bari)
Midfielders
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan)
Daniele De Rossi (Roma)
Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)
Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus)
Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)
Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)
Simone Pepe (Udinese)
Strikers
Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina)
Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria)
Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)
Check back here to see our World Cup predictions for Italy and the tournament - will you agree with us?!
As expected, there are no massive suprises in Italy's provisional thirty man training squad. Roma strike duo, Francesco Totti and Luca Toni both failed to get a call up, while Giuseppe Rossi, the Villarreal forward, is the only player in the squad playing outside of Italy.
While the sqaud might not look as strong as those of some other nations, we will have to wait until the final 23 are announced on the 1st June before making any judgements or predictions.
Italy have been handed a favourable draw as they look to retain the World Cup. They have been placed in Group F with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand and will play matches in Cape Town, Nelspruit and Johannesburg.
If Italy qualify from the group they will face either the winners or runners-up in Group E. This raises the possibility of a heavywight clash with Holland but could also see Italy playing Cameroon, Denmark or Japan.
While no game in the World Cup Finals can be seen as easy, Italy certainly have one of the weaker groups and shouldn't have too much trouble qualifying. Here is a quick look at Italy's opponents;
Paraguay
Paraguay's line-up may be relatively unknown but having qualified comfortably for the finals after some impressive wins over Argentina and Brazil they should not be taken lightly. In my opinion they should qualify with Italy.
Slovakia
Qualified by winning a group containing Slovenia, Czech Republic and Poland. In previous years this would have been some achievement but Poland and the Czech Republic are not the forces they once were. Despite the undoubted quality of Napoli star Marek Hamsik, Slovakia would be suprise qualifiers from Group F.
New Zealand
Arguably the weakest team in the tournament, New Zealand will be playing at only their second finals after coming through a play-off against Bahrain. Securing a point would be a success in my book.
After their ageing team was embarrassed by Egypt and Brazil the Confederations Cup earlier in the year, Marcello Lippi will be hoping some of younger players will have a good season and force their way into the team. I can't help feeling that if Italy are to challenge they need the likes of Claudio Marchisio, Sebastian Giovinco, Guiseppi Rossi and Mario Balotelli to put pressure on the older more established players.
My fear for Italy is that there are now not enough games left to bring in new players and we will see the same old squad again. If this is the case it will a suprise to me if they make it past the second round. I believe a line should have been drawn after the 2008 European Championships and a new team been built around captain Danielle Di Rossi. The qualifying group was not a strong one, so even with inexperienced players they would still have had a great chance of finishing top. Time will tell, I may be proved wrong but lets hope for a great Serie A season followed by a good run for the Azzurri in South Africa.