Reigning champions Italy begin their title defence on Monday evening, in a Group F clash with a confident Paraguay that is fraught with danger.
The game in Cape Town’s Green Point stadium is the toughest test for the Italians in a group that also includes New Zealand and Slovakia. Qualification seems certain, b
ut the Italian media have written off the Azzurri’s chances of retaining their title, the negativity spurred on by a 1-2 loss to Mexico and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in warm-ups.
Boss Marcello Lippi has kept faith with many of the squad that won the world crown in 2006, despite the advancing years of key players. Captain Fabio Cannavaro is 36, while full-back Gianluca Zambrotta, at 33, has lost a lot of his puff.
Lippi has dismissed both the low expectations and the age concerns. “We’ve a few old players but age means experience, charisma,” he said. “I think we have the right mix of young and old players.”
High-altitude training at the Azzurri’s base in Irene should help the older members of the squad when they take on Paraguay, but Italy’s biggest concern is the absence of AC Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo.
He will miss the first two matches with a calf injury, while Roma’s Daniele De Rossi also has a slight strain. The midfielder missed Italy’s 6-0 trouncing of local side Gauteng All Stars on Friday. Should De Rossi not recover, 33-year-old Gennaro Gattuso, who on Saturday announced he would retire after the tournament, could step into midfield for a swansong. Striker Alberto Gilardino is perhaps the only certain starter up-front, although if Friday’s friendly is anything to go by he will be flanked by Vincenzo Iaquinta and Simone Pepe, in a 4-3-3. — DPA