Italy 0 Russia 3:The Republic of Ireland's Euro 2012 Group C opponents Italy lost 3-0 to fellow finalists Russia in a warm-up match tonight. It was Italy's third straight game without scoring, following 1-0 defeats to Uruguay in November and United States in February.
All the goals came in the second half, two from Roman Shirokov and one by Alexander Kerzhakov, but Cesare Prandelli's weren't over-run.
Andrea Pirlo enjoyed an inspirational first half, while Mario Balotelli had an early chance saved by Vyacheslav Malafeyeva before fading after the break.
Italy played against the backdrop of the match-fixing scandal that prompted coach Prandelli to drop Domenico Criscito from his squad.
Earlier today, Prandelli claimed he would have “no problem” if his team was withdrawn from Euro 2012 as the national game suffers another crisis.
A police investigation into corruption led to 19 arrests being made on Monday, including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, while Zenit St Petersburg defender Criscito was dropped after being questioned at the national team’s training headquarters.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has suggested the game would benefit from being suspended for “two to three years” to root out the problem, and Prandelli has said it would be fine by him if he were told not to take his team to Poland and Ukraine.
“If you told us that for the good of football we should not participate, it wouldn’t be a problem for me,” Prandelli told RaiSport. “There are things that I believe are more important.”
Prandelli was speaking after the lawyer of Gianluigi Buffon spoke out to reject claims regarding the Juventus goalkeeper, who is not under investigation by the police. Prandelli added: “I dislike crusades. I prefer to face up to things and not take positions without considering the consequences.
“I would rather only talk about football, but events are conspiring against this.”
Buffon’s lawyer Marco Valerio Corini went on SkyTG24 television to distance his client from the ongoing investigation. “There is nothing which could even carry the faintest suggestion of a connection between Gianluigi Buffon and any betting activity that would concern him in any irregularity either with respect to federation rules or criminal law,” he said.
“There is not the slightest foundation for any suggestion that this is connected with a bet.”
Prandelli admitted he did not know what effect the matter could have on his goalkeeper. “We keep on saying those players caught up in the investigation will not be going to Euro 2012,” he said.
“How is Buffon’s mood? You should ask him. He is very strong, with a great personality. He manages to hide uncomfortable moments, but despite this, even a person like him can suffer in a difficult moment like this.”
