Slovakia 1 Italy 0

NEW ZEALAND coach Ricki Herbert was ecstatic last night after world champions Italy were saved from humiliation against his team of minnows only by a controversial penalty.

Italy 1 New Zealand 1

ITALY goalkeeper Federico Marchetti is excited about the opportunity to fill in for injured veteran Gianluigi Buffon tomorrow against New Zealand.

DEFENDING champions Italy had to come from behind to salvage a draw in their World Cup Group F opener against Paraguay in Cape Town last night.

Italy 1 Paraguay 1

Italy coach Marcello Lippi insists he will not rush chief playmaker Andrea Pirlo back from injury at the World Cup.

ITALY coach Marcello Lippi has dropped the strongest hint yet that his country’s best goalscorer will not start tonight’s World Cup Group F opener with Paraguay.

Italy have dropped Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi from their 23-man World Cup squad.

Juventus 3 Fulham 1

FOUR months after Thierry Henry’s ‘Hand of Gaul’ ended Ireland’s World Cup dreams, France return to international action against Spain tonight (8pm) with a recall for another enfant terrible.

Juventus have suffered a blow with the news striker Vincenzo Iaquinta will have to undergo knee surgery.

ON Saturday night in Croke Park, Ireland were like the man whose numbers come up in the lotto only to discover that he’s lost the winning ticket.

Giovanni Trapattoni is confident no-one will relish being drawn against his Republic of Ireland team in the World Cup play-offs after their near miss against holders Italy.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has urged his team to learn from their painful lesson after Italy snatched World Cup victory from their grasp.

Republic of Ireland 2 Italy 2

Italy boss Marcello Lippi has warned the Republic of Ireland he intends to wrap up automatic qualification for next summer’s World Cup finals in Dublin tonight.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi gave few clues about his line-up for tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

ITALY will need to display character to handle the problems the Republic of Ireland will inevitably cause them in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier at Croke Park, Gianluigi Buffon said last night.

IT’S only when Sean St Ledger points out that he has yet to play for his country in Croke Park that the astonishing rapidity of his rise from relative obscurity and through the Irish ranks really hits home.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi has named a 24-man squad for the World Cup qualifiers away to the Republic of Ireland on Saturday and at home to Cyprus four days later.

REAL MADRID looked fabulous in attack but frail at the back as they began their Champions League Group C campaign last night with a 5-2 win over Swiss champions FC Zurich.

Juventus 1 Bordeaux 1

Italy 2 Bulgaria 0

Andrea Pirlo has kept his place in the team for Italy's World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria tonight.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi has called tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria the "most important" game since his return to the helm of the Azzurri.

GIUSEPPE ROSSI is confident Italy will rediscover their goalscoring touch in tonight’s World Cup qualifier in Georgia.

Giuseppe Rossi is confident Italy will rediscover their goalscoring touch in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier in Georgia.

ITALY goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has offered exiled star Antonio Cassano some hope in making it into Marcelo Lippi’s squad for next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Switzerland 0 Italy 0

SUBSTITUTE Giuseppe Rossi scored a brace to help Italy mount a second-half recovery against 10-man United States and claim victory in their Confederations Cup debut in Pretoria last night.

SERBIA tightened their grip on World Cup qualifying Group Seven with a routine 2-0 win over Brian Kerr’s Faroe Islands last night.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has saluted the job Harry Redknapp has done turning around the fortunes of the club this season.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has cast his net further afield as he prepares for next month’s World Cup qualifier in Bulgaria.

Caleb Folan believes the Republic of Ireland laid down a World Cup marker as they put a dent in Italy’s charge towards automatic qualification.

STAYING ahead of Bulgaria in the chase for second spot may be first priority in Group 8 of the World Cup qualifiers but Robbie Keane is adamant Ireland can still knock Italy off the summit.

Robbie Keane saluted his Republic of Ireland team-mates after snatching a vital late equaliser to deny world champions Italy victory.

Italy 1 Republic of Ireland 1

Half time: Italy 1 Republic of Ireland 0

AS IF the result in Dublin wasn’t enough of a bubble-burster, Italy had to go and canter to the most straightforward of wins on what was supposed to be a potentially tricky, if short, hop across the Adriatic Sea.

Montenegro 0 Italy 2

ITALY and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has said his team would be wrong to underestimate Montenegro and focus on the top-of-the-group showdown against Ireland next week.

FRANK LAMPARD believes Chelsea’s rediscovered fighting spirit will have sent a shudder through the rest of Europe’s top clubs.

Guus Hiddink has warned Europe’s top defenders that they will will have to be at their very best to contain a rampant Didier Drogba.