© EuroFootball.com
Today at 21:45 in the C group match at the Dragao stadium, the teams of Italy and Bulgaria will meet. One team will fight for very important three points, while the other has already said goodbye to any chances of achieving something more.
Last December, when the European Championship draw was made, many were convinced that Italy would have no problems and would win its group. The "Squadra Azzura" then dominated its opponents in the qualifying matches by playing impressive football. However, reality seems to be different - the Italians could be eliminated after the group matches, and the fate of the team does not depend solely on itself. Italy will need to beat the Bulgarian team, and hope for a favorable result in the other group matches, such as Sweden or Denmark winning, or goalless draws.
When selecting the starting lineup, coach Giovanni Trapattoni will be missing three suspended players - Francesco Totti will not be able to play due to a strike to Christian Poulsen, while Fabio Cannavaro and Gennaro Gattuso earned a second yellow card in two matches. Injured Christian Zanetti, on the other hand, should still play after missing training, Simone Perrotta. Main attack leader Christian Vieri has problems with his right knee, so it is unclear if he will be able to recover.
Marco Materazzi will play in the center of defense instead of Cannavaro, and Fiore is likely to replace Gattuso, alongside the attackers, Antonio Cassano should appear, who scored against Sweden. If Vieri doesn't play, he would be replaced in the attack by Bernardo Corradi.
Many were talking before the last round about the other group match between Sweden and Denmark, as it was believed that both Scandinavian countries could agree on a 2-2 result, which would eliminate Italy. However, Trapattoni does not believe that and wants his players to have a good attitude against the Bulgarians: "I want the same attitude we showed against Sweden. I hope that will allow us to play just as well. We cannot think about the other matches, even if everything is possible. Considering the two countries' sporting values, I would like to think that they will play fairly."
Coach Stefano Fiore also agreed: "Anything can happen in football, but I don't think those matches will be fixed. Of course, it would be beneficial for both teams to eliminate Italy, but I believe in fair play. If that weren’t the case, it would be a loss for football."
Bulgaria no longer has even theoretical hopes of advancing to the next stage. The team will be missing the suspended captain Stiliyan Petrov, defender Rosen Kirilov, and it is unclear if Ivailo Petkov and Vladimir Ivanov can play. Petkov will replace the team leader Petrov, and in defense, instead of the other Petkov and Ivanov, Pashin and Zagorchich could play.
However, despite many problems, the Bulgarians will try not to become the worst team in the championship, as so far they have not won any points: "Things have not been going well for us, but we have to be patient. We will try to finish our journey in the European Championship in the best possible way. We will try our best against Italy, as we Bulgarians have pride, and our task is to play well and win."
One of Bulgaria's strengths is passing - according to statistics, as many as 82% of their passes reach the target, which is the second place among championship teams after France. For the Italian team to control the match, they will need to work harder to intercept the ball than they have done so far. So far, the Italians have only tried a total of 60 times, and according to this indicator, they are last.
Possible starting lineups:
Italy (4-3-2-1): Buffon; Panucci, Nesta, Materazzi, Zambrotta; Fiore, Pirlo, Perrotta; Cassano, Del Piero; Vieri.
Bulgaria (4-4-2): Zdravkov; Ivanov, Pashin, Zagorchich, Stoyanov; Peev, Hristov, M. Petkov, M. Petrov; Jankovic, Berbatov.
