Lippi does not take USA lightly

Italy coach Marcello Lippi will not belittle the threat posed by the United States when the teams meet today in Kaiserslautern.

The Azzurri were impressive in their 2-0 victory over Ghana in their opening World Cup game and they are among the favourites to claim the World Cup.

The Americans, however, were crushed 3-0 by the Czech Republic and are currently bottom of Group E.

Lippi knows the Americans must win in Kaiserslautern to have a realistic hope of advancing to the next round and refuses to become complacent.

“One of the possible errors my team could make is to think the USA have been wounded by their opening defeat,” said Lippi.

“The Americans hold on well to possession and hardly ever give the ball away.

“They have valid players in every line and they have a good group.”

Instead Lippi has urged his players to keep their foot on the pedal and build some momentum with another victory.

“I have told players it would be stupid of us not to use our opening victory as a confidence booster rather than an excuse to relax,” said Lippi.

“We have received a lot of praise after the clash against Ghana but we cannot be over-confident.

“Against the United States, we have to go out and get a result and show the same determination, focus and enthusiasm we showed in our first game.”

The Italy coach believes his team will not be affected by the result from the other Group E clash between the Czech Republic and Ghana, which will be played earlier.

“The result of that game will not change the way we go about playing our game,” said Lippi.

Lippi confirmed full-back Gianluca Zambrotta and midfielder Gennaro Gattuso have recovered from their respective injuries and will be available to play against the Americans.

Both players missed their national team’s opener.

Zambrotta is set to play against the Americans while Gattuso is expected to return for the last group clash against the Czech Republic.