The world cup is beginning to hot up now. After a set of really cold affairs, when all the noise was being made by the Voo Voo Zelas in the first round Uruguay scored 3, Argentina 4 and Greece and Mexico scored 2 each to lighten things up, even though it would have been good to have the host nation doing well.
Watch out for the Italians !
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The Italians, meanwhile, have had a quiet start to the tournament in terms of points much similar to their start in the ’06 world cup. The match against Paraguay was certainly not quiet, with tackles flying arround and a lot of end to end stuff. Gle Azzuri were dealt a big blow at half time when talismanic goalkeeper Gigi Buffon was discovered to have a herniated disc. He is now “indefinitely out”. The Italians are still waiting for Andrea Pirlo to be fully fit, and the AC Milan midfielder is not expected to be back against the Kiwis. It is vital for the Azzuri to finish first in order to avoid the dutch threat the next round. So, nothing short of victory in the next two matches will put a smile on Lippi’s face.
Paraguay are a tough nut to crack, and were among the top 3 teams in the qualification for the world cup in South America. Hence a 1-1 draw was not the worst result for the Italians. The Italians totally dominated the match after Paraguay scored the goal (which in itself was not a defensive lapse) and there were some very encouraging performances in the mid field. The defence was solid, as you expect from the Italiams . The only thing lacking in their game was some finishing up-front. If they can improve on their finishing, they could be a dangerous side. In the last year’s edition, they had 10 different goal scorers. Looking at their squad this time, they would have to do something similar.
