they open their World Cup campaign, Italian coach Marcello Lippi knows his
team are still lacking pace and sharpness but is convinced they can peak at
the right time. Friday's scoreless draw with Ukraine, 48 hours after a 1-1
stalemate with Switzerland, extended the Azzurri's unbeaten run to 18
matches but the players know they will have to perform much better to put
together a good run in Germany. ADVERTISEMENT
"We have to improve progressively. It would be wrong to be at our best as
early as June 12 (when they play Ghana in Group E)," he was quoted as saying
in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday. "If we want to go all the way at the
World Cup we have to peak around the middle of the tournament." The area
that will have given him most concern is his attack. Francesco Totti's
performances against Switzerland and Ukraine showed how far he still has to
come before regaining his best form. The Roma striker, who has only made
three competitive outings since fracturing a bone in his ankle in February,
has often been described as the lynchpin of Italy's World Cup bid. On this
week's evidence he could be more of a liability. STILL TIME In Totti's
absence, Lippi has usually fallen back on Alessandro Del Piero but the
Juventus forward is also out of sorts and struggled to link up with fellow
strikers Alberto Gilardino and Luca Toni during the Ukraine match. At least
the players are optimistic that there is still time to iron out the
problems. "It's undeniable that we lack speed and sharpness," said Toni. "But
when we have some of our players back to their best -- like (midfielder
Mauro) Camoranesi, Del Piero and Totti -- there will not be any more
problems." Right-back Massimo Oddo, one of Italy's strongest performers
against Ukraine, said many of Italy's difficulties were simply down to
tiredness. "A lot of us had played just two days before but we are getting
better all the time. In a week's time we will be ready." Italy also face the
Czech Republic and the United States in the group.
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