Spirit of the Azzurri soaring once more

Buoyed by a strong showing against the world champions there’s a new mood of optimism in the Italian camp, boosted by the post-match words of their president Giorgio Napolitano who compared the spirit of the nation to the spirit of the team.

Shades of his predecessor Sandro Pertini who provided moral support to another beleaguered team back in 1982.

Italy wouldn’t be Italy, however, without talk of a conspiracy or two — the possible conspirators in this case being Spain and Croatia who could both go into their final game only needing a draw to progress.