Day Three - England v Italy

Pre-Match Thoughts
Tough one, this. Obviously living in England, I've been privy to all the hype, but three anaemic pre-tournament friendlies haven't brought much confidence to any chance of England doing well. But with Costa Rica picking up the points, the group is wide open.

England do have some good talents in the squad, especially younger players like Sterling, Barkley and Oxade-Chamberlain. However, I have little faith in Sturridge up front and Gerrard and Henderson as holding midfielders just strike me as trouble, especially with a very weak (and slow) defence.

Where they will be spirited is Buffon being injured in the Italian goal. A lot of reports are saying this isn't a strong squad from Italy, so England may fancy themselves for a result. All depends on how their manager sends them out. It's tough to call this one, but I'm going 2-0 to Italy. A hell of a lot may depend on whether Mario Balotelli turns up.

Drink?
Deal on Peroni? Forza Italia!

First Half
Egg on my face for the Sturridge slur, huh? For the first 35 minutes, I suspected the Italians were playing a kind of "rope-a-dope" trick on England, letting themselves get tired out while they waited to strike. With Pirlo as the conductor, it can always happen. The sexy bastard. But it was his sublime dummy that lead to the first goal and seemed to confirm my theory.

Until finally England actually strung a decent move together. Sterling, who nearly scored with a long range effort early on, threaded through Rooney who then made his first real impact on the game by putting in the perfect cross for Sturridge to finish.

Italy still came close afterwards, having a Balotelli effort cleared off the line and also hitting the post. If England want to get a win here, they need to drag off Gerrard, who has offered nothing, and bring on Ross Barkley. Barkley, and Sterling, can both destroy the Italians by running at them. I stand by my point as to whether Roy Hodgson has the balls to go for the win on this one.

Second Half
Let's face it, England were hopeless in that second half. Their experienced players - Gerrard, Rooney and Cahill - failed to step up and England got what they deserved against an Italian team that aren't that impressive, but are marshalled superbly by a Pirlo, a man who knows exactly what he is doing with every touch.

Interesting to see how this group will advance. As previously noted, Costa Rica may well fancy the odds against both these teams.

Result
Italy win 2-1

You're Going to Bed?
If you think I'm staying up till 4am to watch Japan v Ivory Coast, you can fuck right off. I'm in bed now, and staying here.