Prandelli plans changes after Bulgaria draw
Reuters - Monday 10 September 2012, 03:00
Following a disappointing showing in
their opening World Cup qualifying match against Bulgaria on
Friday, Italy are hoping for a convincing win against Malta in
Modena on Tuesday.
Cesare Prandelli's side drew 2-2 in Sofia but, despite
Bulgaria's second goal "stinking of offside" according to sports
daily La Gazzetta Dello Sport, few in Italy thought the
performance deserved more than a point, least of all Prandelli
himself.
"The performance in Sofia was insufficient, negative," said
the Italy manager on Saturday.
"This shows that you can forget the things that you've
learned. We played lots too many long balls.
"We need to go back to working on concepts we were putting
into practice as recently as two months ago."
Prandelli is expected to return to the 4-3-1-2 formation
that served his team well during Euro 2012, after his players
failed to adapt to his preferred 3-5-2.
That decision seems to have been forced by a thigh injury to
midfielder Daniele De Rossi during the draw with Bulgaria.
Early reports suggest De Rossi, who was a doubt for Friday's
game after hurting his ankle in Roma's 3-1 win at Inter Milan
last Sunday, could be out for up to three weeks.
Torino centre-back Angelo Ogbonna could make way for either
Federico Peluso or Mattia Cassani as Prandelli looks to offer
more protection for Gianluigi Buffon in goal.
Forward Pablo Osvaldo, who in the absence of Mario Balotelli
and Antonio Cassano continued his good early-season form by
scoring both of Italy's goals on Friday, is almost certain to
start alongside his Roma team-mate Mattia Destro, with Bologna's
Alessandro Diamanti playing in behind the pair.
"Osvaldo is one of my most in-form players, right now he can
make the difference." said Prandelli.
Malta endured a disappointing start to their qualifying
campaign, going down 1-0 at home to Armenia on Friday.
The defeat shattered Maltese hopes of a morale-boosting
result ahead of their clash with Italy. The island side's last
win during a World Cup qualifying campaign came against Estonia
in May 1993.
Malta coach Pietro Ghedin, back at the helm after a spell in
the mid-1990s, has confirmed an 18-man squad but is expected to
make changes in midfield on the back of their low-key
performance on Friday.
Defender Andrei Agius, who plays for US Latina in Italy's
first division, is relishing the prospect of facing Italy.
"This has to be the biggest game of my career," the
26-year-old told Reuters.
"I'm looking forward to the game because I know that I will
be playing against one of the best teams in the world. We have
to be objective about our targets for the match and we all know
what we're in for."