Italy got their 2014 World Cup preperation underway with an unconvincing 0-0 friendly draw against the Republic of Ireland.
Cesare Prandelli named several changes to his starting-eleven including Salvatore Sirigu, Marco Verratti and Matteo Darmian.
The Azzurri set the tempo for the match early on. Verratti’s lofted cross found Ciro Immobile alone in the box, but the striker, reportedly bound for Borussia Dortmund, miscontroled and lost possession.
After five minutes, Claudio Marchisio opted to shoot on the break, forcing David Forde into beating the ball over his crossbar. Play was stopped for an extended period of time when Riccardo Montolivo picked up a knock, received extensive treatment and was eventually replaced by Alberto Aquilani.
Ireland began making their own inroads in search of a goal. A strong attack into the Azzurri area was brought back by referee Michael Oliver for a foul. Anthony Pilkington’s resultant effort was parried away by Sirigu expertly.
The Irishman did one better moments later when he danced his way through the defense only to see his shot deflect harmlessly away. They continued to pepper Sirigu’s goal but could not break them down. Aiden McGeady got the better of Gabriel Paletta and delivered a perfect cross to Shane Long, but the striker’s header was saved brilliantly by Sirigu.
Aquilani’s match was cut short as well. Unable to recover from a head injury, Marco Parolo replaced him. The Azzurri returned to dominating the match and finished the first half on the front foot. After the break it was the Irish who once again troubled the 2006 World Cup champions.
Pilkington made some space for himself on the edge of the box and let fly, but the ball went just wide of the post. Immobile thought he’d put Italy in front after Parolo squared the ball to him in the area, but the asisstant referee flagged offside. They were denied again when Marchisio’s low shot was saved by the resilient Forde.
Parolo burst into the area to pick up the loose ball, but his shot hit the side-netting. At the other end, the Azzurri defense will count themselves lucky when Sirigu made a series of impressive saves, after he was left for dead by the back-line.
Seconds later, Mattia De Sciglio burst through the defense and had played the ball through, but the whistle blew for offside. Despite their best efforts, Italy could not pierce the Ireland back line and went home empty handed.
Hardly the most comprehensive of early friendlies for Prandelli’s men, they will need to be sharper in the weeks that are to come. Ireland did not present much of a threat going forward, so Italy will need to find another way of putting their defense through their paces.
Riccardo Montolivo’s injury could put his World Cup place in jeopardy and will be hoping it’s nothing serious.
Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156
