The Italian national football team can almost secure a place in the World Cup quarterfinals on Friday evening. The leaders of Group D will play against Costa Rica, a team that caused a huge surprise in the first match. Italian coach Cesare Prandelli assures that they are preparing carefully for the match and studying the opponents' game.
"We have studied this team's game. They are a strong national team, knowing how to play very well. Costa Rica defeated Uruguay in the first match, so these will be the hardest group matches," - said C. Prandelli before the match.
The 56-year-old specialist revealed that Italy's goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon has almost recovered from an injury, which prevented him from playing in the first match against England. The goalkeeper is training with his teammates.
However, C. Prandelli still does not know whether he will let the veteran onto the field, as Salvatore Sirigu, who defended the goal in the first matches, looked excellent and deserved the trust of the coach and teammates.
"We have known the World Cup calendar for a long time, so we have studied the game of all opponents, including Costa Rica. They are a very well-organized team with a clear system. They really deserved the victory against Uruguay.
The Costa Rican attacking trio consists of very good players, capable of competing one-on-one, allowing deeper passes and receiving balls. Joel Campbell is a very good player, a modern striker, capable of striking well from distance, heading, creating dangerous situations for others. The instinct says that this will be the toughest group match," - said C. Prandelli.
