The big dilemma facing Italy coach Cesare Prandelli on Sunday is whether to put Mario Balotelli into the starting line-up to face England in the quarter-final of Euro 2012.
The controversial striker scored a sublime volley versus the Rep of Ireland in the Azzurriís final Group C game after coming on as a late substitute, and then made a signal to the bench as if to say, ‘how dare you drop me’.
His team-mate, Leonardo Bonucci, did him a huge favour by restraining him and literally putting his hand over Balotelli’s mouth in order to diffuse Mario’s natural flair for controversy. Prandelli will probably opt for a front two of Cassano and Balotelli with Di Natale dropping to the bench.
The concern over Mario amongst the Italian press has been that the Manchester City players within the England team will know how to push their team-mate Balotelliís buttons and get him red-carded.
Italy made a confident start in the 1-1 draw with world champions Spain last Sunday, a game in which Prandelli played three defenders at the back with Maggio and Giaccherini as wing-backs. The same formation worked well in the first half against Croatia before Slaven Bilic’s men out-performed the Italians in the second period and earned a 1-1 draw.
Italy are notoriously slow-starters and have often been successful in the past when theyíve eased their way into tournaments (usually against the backdrop of a match-fixing scandal back home), so their final group game was a chance to really bolster some confidence as they faced an Ireland team already assured of elimination.
It was a nervy performance from the Azzurri though, and the Italian media is blaming this on Prandelliís switch back to a 4-4-2 formation, which saw the Italians run out eventual 2-0 winners after Balotelliís 90th minute strike.
He may revert back to a 3-5-2 in Kiev this Sunday to nullify the threat of Parker, Gerrard and Rooney in Englandís midfield. Andrea Pirlo has been having a superb tournament as usual and he could be the key to prising open a very well organised England team under Roy Hodgson.
In what is likely to be an extremely tight match, it could be a tale of two goalkeepers, the veteran skipper Gianluigi Buffon and the young and talented, Joe Hart. Both Keepers will undoubtedly be called upon to make crucial saves on Sunday and of course the tie could go all the way to a penalty shoot-out.
This article was written by Phil Rushton – Football Betting Master
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