Italy were profligate in Belfast, managing only a point.
Italy were left to rue a series of missed chances, as they could only manage a point against Northern Ireland in Belfast. As expected, coach Cesare Prandelli fielded a trident of Marco Borriello, Simone Pepe, and Antonio Cassano, but all three were unable to find a way past their opponents.
The first real chance fell to Northern Ireland's David Healy, but he headed wide from a promising position.
Then Borriello latched onto an Andrea Pirlo ball, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Taylor.
Prandelli tinkers with formation ahead of tomorrow's encounter.
After an unconvincing 2-1 win over Estonia, Italy take on Faroe Islands in Florence on Tuesday. Coach Cesare Prandelli lamented recently that Italy lacked confidence at half-time of their first encounter, signaling in the process that Italian shortcomings may be more psychological than anything else.Admittedly, the Azzurri have looked timid, even when compared to the 2008 version under Roberto Donadoni, a team that, if nothing else, could play out a pragmatic 0-0 draw (Euro2008) with Spain.The current Italian side needs to find a combination of that self-belief and a distinct identity that will let them impose their authority on a game.
Prandelli has somewhat of a selection headache ahead of tomorrow’s game.What is becoming increasingly clear is that a reformed Antonio Cassano, the erstwhile petulant talent of Italian football, is the man around whom the new Italy will be built.He looks to keep his place in attack as Prandelli experiments with a 4-3-2-1.Fiorentina’s Alberto Gilardino is set to spearhead the attack in front of Cassano and Giuseppe Rossi.It is a variation of a 4-3-3 that worked moderately well against Estonia.However, Rossi and Cassano bring different qualities in attack.Rossi is an enterprising, speedy forward, while Cassano likes to carve out chances in close spaces as a more traditional playmaker.
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After an unconvincing 2-1 win over