Italy are looking to hoist the World Cup again after prevailing in 2006 over France in the final. Italy have strength throughout their entire squad but there are some notable absences. Francisco Totti (Roma) and Luca Toni are both left out of the 28-man squad. This seems to be a recurring theme this year amongst the big teams. From Brazil to Argentina to now Italy there are some puzzling squad selections or omissions. Fabio Grosso is another player that has not made the cut. He played in the World Cup final four years ago and scored the winning penalty in that same match.
Italy have a very manageable group. Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia are all that stand between them and the knockout rounds. I expect Italy to finish top of their group. If they can minimize injuries they can make a deep run in this tournament. In the back, they will be lead by Buffon in the nets. Look for De Rossi to take up a spot in midfield. It will be interesting to see what kind of time Giuseppe Rossi gets. The New Jersey born player decided to play for Italy and having played at Manchester United he is quite a talent.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo)
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal)
World Cup Matches
June 14 - Italy vs Paraguay
June 20 - Italy vs New Zealand
June 24 - Italy vs Slovakia
Italy have a very manageable group. Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia are all that stand between them and the knockout rounds. I expect Italy to finish top of their group. If they can minimize injuries they can make a deep run in this tournament. In the back, they will be lead by Buffon in the nets. Look for De Rossi to take up a spot in midfield. It will be interesting to see what kind of time Giuseppe Rossi gets. The New Jersey born player decided to play for Italy and having played at Manchester United he is quite a talent.
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo)
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal)
World Cup Matches
June 14 - Italy vs Paraguay
June 20 - Italy vs New Zealand
June 24 - Italy vs Slovakia
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