Player Ratings: Italy vs Brazil

Emanuele Giaccherini of Italy (22) celebrates as he scores their first goal during the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil

ITALY

Gianluigi Buffon- (5.5)

The Azurris skipper has let in 7 goals in the last two games and this was only the second time that he let past four in a single match. Should have done much better to parry the shot wide and prevent Fred from pouncing on to score his second.

Ignazio Abate (6)

Abate did exceedingly well during his stay on the pitch as he had Neymar under his control. Hardly gave the Brazilian trickster space to exploit but had to be subbed due to a shoulder injury.

Giorgio Chiellini- (7)

An average performance from the experienced centre back as he failed to wrestle Fred off the ball which led to Brazil’s third. But the Juventus defender quickly made up for his error by scoring one and pulling the deficit back.

Leonardo Bonucci – (5.5)

Played second fiddle to Chiellini for large parts of the game and struggled against the quick Brazilian attackers.

Mattio De Sciglio – ( 7)

A very professional performance from the left back as he tread upwards with caution. Defended pretty well against Hulk and Alves most of the time, but provided little in the attacking department.

Antonio Candreva – (7)

Candreva’s work rate was terrific as he bombed down the right as well as dropped deep to provide adequate support for Maggio.

Claudio Marchisio- (6.5)

A very mediocre performance from the midfielder as he struggled to find his usual passing. Found little assistance in the midfield but worked hard to win back balls most of the time.

Alberto Aquilani- (5)

Aquilani was definitely the poorest Italian player out in the middle as he struggled to keep the ball and lost possession infinite times during the match.

Ricardo Montolivo – (4)

Was having a horror show as he kept losing the ball more often than not in the early minutes of the game. Struggled as the Brazilians kept closing down the ball quickly.

Alessandro Diamanti – (6)

Barely had any impact in the game apart from providing a couple of decent corner kicks.

Mario Balotelli – (7.5)

A much matured performance from the Milan striker as he was left all alone up front for most of the game. Showed his physical strength when his delightful flick set up Giaccherini for Italy’s first.

Subs

Giaccherini (8)

Showed great desire to get onto the ball and shielded it pretty well. Showed his range of passing as well and scored a brilliant goal to inspire an Italian comeback. Was arguably Italy’s best player on the pitch.

Christian Maggio- (7)

The veteran full-back replaced Abate and initially struggled to keep up with Neymar. Conceded a free kick in the edge of the area which led to Brazil’s second of the match. But improved as the game wore on and became involved in the overall play, went close to scoring as his header hit the bar from a Candreva corner.

Stephane El Sharaawy – (5)

Came on in the second half but barely had a telling touch on the football during his stay.