Italy v Northern Ireland – Preview

  June will see the return to competitive football for the national sides of Europe. With most seasons at club level now finished, international players and coaches are for the most part preparing to continue their World Cup qualifying campaigns, in the hope of confirming their place as one of the 32 nations in South Africa next summer. The story is slightly different for the Azzurri of Italy though, as, with no qualifying matches scheduled, Marcello Lippi and his side will fly out to South Africa to take part in the Confederations Cup, a competition many see as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup proper, an honour they earned as the reigning champions of the world. The tournament kicks off for Italy with a game against the USA on June 15th.

The Italy squad, aiming for Confederations Cup glory

  Before any major international tournament, it is important for the players to grow accustomed to playing together again, and for the manager to test out tactics, so most countries play friendlies in the run up to the tournament beginning. Italy have two coming up, a game against New Zealand on June 10th, but firstly, on Saturday, while their nearest rivals in Qualifying Group Eight, the Republic of Ireland are playing a vital match in Bulgaria, the Azzurri will play host to their near neighbours Northern Ireland. This match, which will take place in the Stadio Romeo Anconetani, in Pisa, will provideLippi with a chance to fine tune his side ahead of travelling to Africa.

The 90 year old Stadio Romeo Anconetani will host the match

  I’d love to give a prediction of the team Italy will field, but selections for these friendly matches really are a law unto themselves, with the high numbers of substitutes permitted meaning that its likely that almost every single player in both the Italy and Northern Ireland squads will take to the pitch at some point during the game. The squads are discussed in more detail further down the page.

Chievo’s Sergio Pellisier, one of the youngsters who could be given the nod by Lippi

  Northern Ireland, managed by former Norwich boss Nigel Worthington, are by no means a bad side, currently ranked 27th in the world and enjoying their best period since the creation of FIFA’s ranking system, having been as low as 124th five years ago. They also commendably top their tough World Cup qualifying group, narrowly leading over Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic. However, I expect Italy to be too strong for them, particularly on their own soil. Recently, the Azzurri have been making a habit of functionally easing past weaker opposition by the odd goal, so such a scoreline could well be likely on Saturday.

The Squads:

Both Lippi and Worthington have already selected their extensive squads for the match, from which they will select their starting elevens, with all other squad members automatically being listed among the substitutes. The Italian squad, which forms part of the squad for the Confederations Cup, is a largely youthful one, which includes eight uncapped players, while Worthington also seems to be using the game as a chance to test out his younger players. Both squads do feature some very experienced players, in particular Gennaro Gattuso for Italy, and Northern Ireland’s David Healy. The squads in full are as follows, Italy in blue, Northern Ireland in green.

Goalkeepers:
Morgan de Sanctis, 32, Galatasaray, 3 caps
Federico Marchetti, 27, Cagliari, no caps

Alan Mannus, 27, Linfield, 3 caps
Jonathan Tuffey, 22, Partick Thistle, 1 cap

Defenders:
Mattia Cassani, 25, Palermo, no caps
Andrea Dossena, 27, Liverpool, 7 caps
Andrea Esposito, 23, Lecce, no caps
Alessandro Gamberini, 27, Fiorentina, 4 caps
Fabio Grosso, 31, Lyon, 41 caps
Nicola Legrottaglie, 32, Juventus, 11 caps
David Santon, 18, Inter, no caps

Craig Cathcart, 20, Manchester United, no caps
Chris Casement, 21, unattached, no caps
Shane Duffy, 17, Everton, no caps
Colin Coates, 23, Crusaders, no caps
Ryan McGivern, 19, Manchester City, 5 caps

Midfielders:
Marco Biagianta, 25, Catania, no caps
Matteo Brighi, 28, Roma, 3 caps
Gaetano D’Agostino, 26, Udinese, no caps
Gennnaro Gattuso, 31, AC Milan, 65 caps
Riccardo Montolivo, 24, Fiorentina, 4 caps
Angelo Palombo, 27, Sampdoria, 8 caps

Shane Ferguson, 17, Newcastle, no caps
Michael O’Connor, 21, unattached, no caps
Damien Johnson, 20, Birmingham, 51 caps
Corry Evans, 18, Manchester United, no caps
Stephen Carson, 28, Coleraine, no caps
Rob Garrett, 21, Linfield, no caps
Niall McGinn, 21, Celtic, 1 cap
Grant McCann, 29, Scunthorpe, 21 caps
Chris Brunt, 24, West Brom, 23 caps

Forwards:
Pasquale Foggia, 25, Lazio, 2 caps
Giuseppe Mascara, 30, Catania, no caps
Giampaolo Pazzini, 24, Sampdoria, 2 caps
Sergio Pellisier, 30, Chievo, no caps
Giuseppe Rossi, 22, Villarreal, 3 caps

David Healy, 29, Sunderland, 73 caps
Andrew Little, 20, Rangers, 1 cap
James Lawrie, 18, Port Vale, no caps
Martin Donnelly, 20, Crusaders, no caps 

Key Battles:

Giuseppe Rossi v Ryan McGivern
To date, Villarreal striker Rossi, one of just four players in Lippi’s squad based outsideItaly, has just three caps. The talented 22 year old will be very keen to add to that total and better establish himself in his coach’s plans with a good performance on Saturday. He will do his best to exploit a very inexperienced Northern Ireland defence, of which young Manchester City defender Ryan McGivernis the most experienced member, and the only one with any previous caps to his name.

 

Gennaro Gattuso v Rob Garrett
Gattuso, the most experienced member of the Italian squad will look to control the game from the midfield against the Northern Irish. He will have to be on his toes to keep up with the livewire Linfield midfielder Rob Garrett though, who after impressing in the IFA Premiership this season could earn his first cap. Garrett previously played for Stoke, and though he never really made an impact of the first team, as a Stoke fan I’ve seen a fair bit of him and been impressed by his pace and energy levels.

 

Nicola Legrottaglie v David Healy
Sunderland striker Healy is something of a hero for Northern Ireland. Though he has never really shone on Wearside, he has always impressed on the international stage, scoring 35 goals in just 73 games, a record that makes him the country’s top goalscorer of all time at the age of just 29. His main opposition should come in the shape of Juventus’s uncompromising centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie. Now 32, he’s always been on the fringes of the Italian national side, and will hope to show Lippi his worth even in the twilight of his career.

 

Comparative stats:                           Italy              Northern Ireland
FIFA World Ranking:                                       5                                  27

WC 2010 Qualifying Position:              1st, Group Eight          1st, Group Three

Qualifying Goals Scored:                                 9                                  12

Qualifying Goals Conceded:                           3                                   6

Form:                                                        DWLDWD                       WWWLWL