Italy aiming to avoid embarrassment against Slovakia

Italy and Slovakia will be kicking off in a huge Group F match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on June 24.
The Italians are tied for second while Slovakia is in fourth place, but both teams have a chance of advancing. Paraguay tops the group with four points while Italy and New Zealand are tied for second with two each and Slovakia has one.

The reigning World Cup champions are guaranteed a place in the next round with a win and they could also go through with a draw, providing Paraguay beats New Zealand or New Zealand draws, but scores fewer goals than Italy. It’s also possible that Italy and New Zealand could end up deadlocked for second place if they both draw and have the same amount of goals and goal differential. If this happens, second place will be awarded by FIFA drawing lots.

Italy finds themselves in their embarrassing position by being held to 1-1 draws by Paraguay and New Zealand. It will be the first time they have been knocked out of a World Cup in the first round since 1974 if they don’t get the required results.

Defender back Gianluca Zambrotta stated the team has been in this position before and they’ve faced many crucial games. He added that the Italian players know how to handle the pressure and get the best out of themselves. However, things have dried up in the Italian forward line with Vincenzo Iaquinta being the lone forward to hit the back of the net so far. Fellow forwards Antonio Di Natale and Alberto Gilardino have been struggling and manager Marcello Lippi has come under fire from some quarters for not even considering strikers Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano for the squad.

Italy has been behind in both of their matches after giving up early goals and their attack has been pretty dismal, even though midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has played well. Goaltender Gianluigi Buffon injured his back in the first game and is out of the tournament. His spot was taken by Federico Marchetti, but goalkeeping hasn’t been a weakness so far.

Lippi said he thinks his players are actually trying too hard instead of relaxing. He added that giving up early goals may have unnerved some of them and they may have changed their game plan slightly. Lippi may sit out Gilardino along with midfielder Claudio Marchisio and replace them with Giampaolo Pazzini and Mauro Camoranesi. Injured midfielder Andrea Pirlo joined the squad for training on Monday, but it’s unclear if he’ll play.

If Slovakia is to advance, they have to step up their attack dramatically as the team only had three shots on net in their first two games. Incredibly, they didn’t hit the net until the 92nd minute against Paraguay. Captain Marek Hamsik scored 12 goals for his Italian club team Napoli this season, but has been missing in action so far. Midfielder Miroslav Stoch stated the team isn’t happy with their performances and they’re making way too many mistakes, especially in their own end. However, Slovakia can still reach the next round if they win and New Zealand loses or draws.

Italy v Slovakia Odds and Predictions

The two teams have played each other 27 times, with Italy winning 10, losing 8, and drawing 9 of them, so their records are pretty even. However, look for Italy to win this matchup 2-0. For this result you get 6 times the money at SportsInteraction (USA friendly).

The Italians may be struggling, but they’re still the favourites at Ladbrokes too with the odds of them winning set at 11/20. A Slovakia win is listed at 23/4 and the odds of a draw are 29/10.

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