Italy 2 Ecuador 0
Striker Christian Vieri scored twice as Italy opened their World Cup challenge with a 2-0 win over Ecuador at the Sapporo Dome today.
Italy, one of the pre-tournament favourites, settled the match in the first half an hour.
Vieri was off the mark after just seven minutes. Francesco Totti crossed from the left for Vieri to side-foot the ball beyond Ecuador goalkeeper Jose Cevallos.
Vieri was a constant menace and 20 minutes later a long pass was lofted over the Ecuadorean defence, allowing him to shrug off defender Ivan Hurtado, round the keeper and roll the ball home.
Ecuador picked up their play in the second half and Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon had to react sharply to deny Agustin Delgado in the final minutes.
The forward who plays for Southampton smashed a shot from inside the penalty area that Buffon palmed round the post.
Ecuador made a good start to the second half with the lively Edison Mendez blasting a shot past the post.
The minnows began to mount more attacks, and won a succession of corners but failed to convert them into goals.
Italy struck back, Damiano Tomassi's strong drive forcing a save from Cevallos, and Cristiano Doni hit the bar from the resulting corner.
Italy go top of Group G and face Croatia in Ibaraki on Saturday.