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Italy's national team captain Fabio Cannavaro denied that his team is still "riding high" after the triumph in the World Cup after the match with Lithuania, but warnings to the planet's champions were flashing in the country's newspapers.
"We didn't play perfectly, but I think we had a good game considering that many of our players have only played friendly matches so far. We knew it would be a tough match. They played better than us in the first ten minutes, but I think later we played with great determination and created fifteen good opportunities. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to secure the win," said F. Cannavaro.
However, the Italian press was not lenient and sounded the alarm bells of danger. "Italy brought back down to earth. Two months after the triumph in Germany, they play a draw at home against Lithuania. World champions held to 1-1," announced "Gazzetta dello Sport."
"It's time to wake up, France is approaching," warns "Corriere dello Sport," "Unpleasant debut for Donadoni in the Euro 2008 qualifying matches. Only 1-1 against Lithuania, Cassano made an impression. A repeat of the World Cup final awaits on Wednesday."
"Italy unrecognizable. Not resembling World champions, they are stopped by Lithuania," criticized "Tuttosport."
"The 'Azzurri' of the World Cup are on vacation in the match against Lithuania. Donadoni's inspiring Cassano play wasn't enough, only Inzaghi scored a goal. We are already worried about traveling to Paris on Wednesday," warned "La Stampa."
Meanwhile, Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admitted that the result was not what the team expected: "We thought we would win, but it was harder than we expected. I don't think we relaxed. We felt a great responsibility in this match to give our hundred percent, we thought we would win, but it was harder than we expected. They (the Lithuanians) were better prepared physically, but even if we didn't play our best, we still created many chances that unfortunately we didn't capitalize on."
