Shaky Italy eye solid showing

Champions in 1934,1938,1982 and 2006,the Azzurri has won the World Cup more than any other European team and is just one title behind all-time leader Brazil. The gulf in class is reflected in FIFAs latest rankings. Italy is fifth,while New Zealand is 78th,the third lowest in the tournament.

Despite the weight of numbers,Italy has struggled for form recently and it wouldnt be the first time New Zealand has made life difficult for Marcello Lippis side.

The Kiwis took the lead twice and led at half time in a friendly in Pretoria just over a year ago as both teams warmed up for the Confederations Cup.

Alberto Gilardino pulled Italy level just after the break and Lippi sent on substitutions after an hour to shake things up. Vincenzo Iaquinta promptly scored twice to condemn the New Zealanders to a 4-2 loss- but the warning lights had flashed,albeit briefly.

Italys uninspiring 1-1 draw with Paraguay in the teams World Cup opener on Monday has also got fans fidgeting 8211; though Lippi was characteristically calm after the match.

At a World Cup youve got to build belief,confidence and condition game by game, he said. Ive never seen a team start off at 100 percent and maintain that form for seven games.

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini was also confident. Were certainly not as behind form as everybody made us out to be,although we still have a lot of room for improvement, he said.

New Zealand is a very physical team and we saw that when we met them before the Confederations Cup. Theyre dangerous on headers,crosses and free kicks.

The All-Whites have already shown they will not be pulled down easily in this World Cup.

Winston Reids headed equalizer in injury time against Slovakia provided a mini upset to secure the national teams first World Cup point and leave the group deadlocked after the first game.

A draw or better against Italy would be a much bigger shock.