Winning all that matters for no-nonsense Lippi

“AN OWN-GOAL would be fine,” joked Marcello Lippi yesterday, but behind the smiles, there is some anxiety ahead of their biggest match so far in World Cup Group 8.

Italians are accustomed to their managers experimenting with different formations and different players, but usually not on the eve of important games. Yesterday morning however, Italy were practising a 4-3-3 in Turin with Pepe, Gilardino and Iaquinta up front.

If that were to be Lippi’s starting line-up, it would almost certainly mean leaving Andrea Pirlo on the bench. The Milan playmaker has had an indifferent start to the season, but it would be a surprising move, given he has been a fixture in the side and was man of the match in the 2006 World Cup final.