Sport

Expect Italy to come out blazing

Italy v USA: If the Americans really think all that talk about "going to war" will intimidate the Italians, perhaps they should…

Paddy Agnew
Sat Jun 17 2006 - 01:00

Italy v USA: If the Americans really think all that talk about "going to war" will intimidate the Italians, perhaps they should think again. After making an unusually (for them) impressive tournament start with a 2-0 win over Ghana, a confident Italy expect to defeat a USA team still smarting from that 3-0 loss to the Czech Republic.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi may well make just one change, recalling left back Gianluca Zambrotta at the expense of Fabio Grosso. Playmaker Francesco Totti, even if still not fully fit, again lines up behind a two-man strike force in Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino with his Roma team-mate Simone Perrotta alongside Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Pirlo in an unchanged midfield.

While Italy's good start came as only a relative surprise, not many would have predicted a 3-0 trouncing for the USA. Even if they over-achieved four years ago in getting to the quarter-finals, they are still a team that is normally hard to beat.

Coach Bruce Arena publically got stuck into one of his players, DaMarcus Beasley, after that 3-0 defeat and, for their part, some of the players suggested that they did not know exactly what Arena wanted them to do out on the pitch.

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Yesterday, however, Arena was busy protesting that "there are no issues" with Beasely, but he may well leave him out today, dropping Landon Donovan back to midfield and bringing in Eddie Johnson to play alongside Fulham striker Brian McBride.

Even if this is a "do or die" game for the Americans, Italy are most unlikely to revert to defensive type, sit back and let the USA run at them. The Italians have their tails up and intend to keep them there.

Indeed, Lippi's team will take the game to the Americans and they must be fancied to win, thus stretching their current unbeaten sequence to 20 games, the longest such run since 1939.

Italy (4-3-1-2)

Buffon; Zaccardo, Nesta, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; De Rossi, Pirlo, Perrotta; Totti; Toni, Gilardino.

Coach: Marcello Lippi.

USA (4-4-2)

Keller; Lewis, Onyewu, Pope, Cherundolo; Convey, Reyna, Mastroeni, Beasley; Donovan, McBride.

Coach: Bruce Arena