Italy v Croatia teams

Mexico left 10-man Croatia with it all to do to get out of Group G as Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s second-half penalty sealed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the France 98 semi-finalists in their opening World Cup match in Niigata.

Mexico left 10-man Croatia with it all to do to get out of Group G as Cuauhtemoc Blanco’s second-half penalty sealed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the France 98 semi-finalists in their opening World Cup match in Niigata.

Nothing can impact upon a footballer’s career quite like a sticking sobriquet. But imagine being branded ‘Glass Legs’, the moniker afforded Robert Prosinecki in his injury-ravaged Primera Liga days.