Impressive Italians close in on finals

ITALY made their reservations for the World Cup finals in South Africa last night after a dramatically improved performance against Bulgaria in Turin.

Two first-half goals put Italy in complete control of the game, and they might have scored more, but there were sufficient lapses in defence to provide some encouragement for Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland side ahead of the game in Dublin – and Fabio Cannavaro’s second-half booking means the Italy captain will miss the game.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi picked a side to please the local crowd – there were seven Juventus players in the starting line-up – and confounded pre-match speculation by retaining Andrea Pirlo in the playmaker role, with Daniele de Rossi returning in midfield after suspension.