With such little stress expected for the group stage, France should be able to make sure that Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema is fresh after years of being left out of the French National Team picture. With Benzema in the middle of the pitch as a true center forward and the blistering pace of Kylian Mbappe and creativity of Ousmane Dembele on the wings, France could have the best attacking trio in the world. That's a big reason why Green sees value in France to repeat as champions given the price.
How to make World Cup picks Green has locked in his best bets to win the World Cup, along with the top picks to win each group. He's also high on two dark horse teams that are listed higher than who have a chance to shock the world and win it all. You can only see them here. So who will win the World Cup ? And which long shots stun the soccer world? The team had travelled by boat rather than by plane, fearing another accident. Italy did not take part in the first edition of the European Championship in then known as the European Nations Cup , and was knocked out by the Soviet Union in the first round of the European Nations' Cup qualifying.
Despite being the tournament favourites, the Azzurri, whose squad included Gianni Rivera and Giacomo Bulgarelli , were eliminated in the first round by the semi-professional North Koreans. The Italian team was bitterly condemned upon their return home, while North Korean scorer Pak Doo-ik was celebrated as the David who killed Goliath.
Upon Italy's return home, furious fans threw fruit and rotten tomatoes at their transport bus at the airport. The match is the only European Championship or World Cup final to go to a replay. Italy won the replay 2—0 with goals from Gigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi to take the trophy.
The semi-final was won on a coin toss. In the World Cup , exploiting the performances of European champions' players like Giacinto Facchetti , Gianni Rivera and Gigi Riva and with a new centre-forward Roberto Boninsegna , the team were able to come back to a World Cup final match after 32 years. They reached this result after one of the most famous matches in football history—the " Game of the Century ", the World Cup semifinal between Italy and West Germany that Italy won 4—3 in extra time, with five of the seven goals coming in extra time.
The cycle of international successes ended at the World Cup , where the team was eliminated in the group stage after a 2—1 loss against Poland in the last match of the group. Italy was the only team in the tournament to beat the eventual champions and host team Argentina. Second-round games against West Germany 0—0 , Austria 1—0 and Netherlands 1—2 led Italy to the third-place final, where the team was defeated by Brazil 2—1. In the match that eliminated Italy from the tournament against the Netherlands, Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff was beaten by a long-distance shot from Arie Haan , and Zoff was criticized for the defeat.
After two draws with Spain and Belgium and a narrow 1—0 win over England , Italy were beaten by Czechoslovakia in the third-place match on penalties 9—8 after Fulvio Collovati missed his kick. After a scandal in Serie A where some National team players such as Paolo Rossi [21] were prosecuted and suspended for match fixing and illegal betting, the Azzurri qualified for the second round of the World Cup after three uninspiring draws against Poland , Peru and Cameroon.
Having been loudly criticized, the Italian team decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff appointed to speak to the press. Italy's regrouped in the second round group, a group of death with Argentina and Brazil. In the opener, Italy prevailed 2—1 over Argentina, with Italy's goals, both left-footed strikes, were scored by Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini.
After Brazil defeated Argentina 3—1, Italy needed to win in order to advance to the semi-finals. Twice Italy went in the lead with Paolo Rossi's goals, and twice Brazil came back. In the final , Italy met West Germany, who had advanced by a penalty shootout victory against France. In the second half Paolo Rossi again scored the first goal, and while the Germans were pushing forward in search of an equaliser, Marco Tardelli and substitute Alessandro Altobelli finalised two contropiede counterattacks to make it 3—0.
Paul Breitner scored home West Germany's consolation goal seven minutes from the end. Italy played nearly all of their matches in Rome and did not concede a single goal in their first five matches; however, they lost the semi-final in Naples to defending champion Argentina. Argentinian player Maradona, who played for Napoli , made comments prior to the game pertaining to the North—South inequality in Italy and the risorgimento , asking Neapolitans to root for Argentina in the game.
Schillaci's first-half opener was equalised in the second half by Claudio Caniggia 's header for Argentina. Aldo Serena missed the final penalty kick with Roberto Donadoni also having his penalty saved by goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Italy went on to defeat England 2—1 in the third-place match in Bari, with Schillaci scoring the winning goal on a penalty to become the tournament's top scorer with six goals. Italy then failed to qualify for the European Championship. During their round of 16 match at the Foxboro Stadium near Boston , Italy was down 0—1 late against Nigeria , but Baggio rescued Italy with an equaliser in the 88th minute and a penalty in extra time to take the win.
Having defeated Russia 2—1 but losing to the Czech Republic by the same score, Italy required a victory in their final group match to progress to the quarter-finals. Gianfranco Zola failed to convert a decisive penalty in a 0—0 draw against Germany, who eventually won the tournament. Striker Francesco Totti scored his penalty with a cucchiaio "spoon" chip. In the final tournament , a 2—0 victory against Ecuador with a double from Christian Vieri was followed by a series of controversial matches.
During the match against Croatia , English referee Graham Poll disallowed two goals resulting in a 2—1 defeat for Italy. The match proved controversial with members of the Italian team, most notably striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni , suggesting a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the competition. While questioning Totti's sending off by Moreno, Blatter refused to blame Italy's loss entirely on the referees, stating: "Italy's elimination is not only down to referees and linesmen who made human not premeditated errors.
Italy made mistakes both in defense and in attack. He guided the team to a first-place finish in Group 9 overcoming Wales , Serbia and Montenegro , Finland and Azerbaijan. With draws against Denmark and Sweden along with a victory over Bulgaria in Group C , Italy were eliminated following a three-way five point tie based on the number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams.
Lippi dedicated the victory to former Italian international Gianluca Pessotto , who was in the hospital recovering from an apparent suicide attempt. French captain Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring from penalty kick in the seventh minute before Materazzi scored from a corner kick, twelve minutes later. The score remained level and though extra-time and Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi.
Italy won the group, with France being the runner-up. This was the second time in the Azzurri's history that it had been ranked in first place, the first time being in ; they would also be ranked first several times throughout , also in April—June and September. The following game against Romania ended 1—1, with a goal by Christian Panucci that came only one minute after Romania's Adrian Mutu capitalized on a mistake by Gianluca Zambrotta to give Romania the lead.
Andrea Pirlo scored from the penalty spot after a foul and red card for France defender Eric Abidal , and later a free kick by Daniele De Rossi took a deflection resulting Italy's second goal. Romania, entering the day a point ahead of the Italians in Group C, lost to the Netherlands 2—0, allowing Italy to pass into the quarter finals against eventual champions Spain, where they lost 2—4 on penalties after a 0—0 draw after minutes.
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Both teams needed a win to secure qualification as both teams have fallen victim to the World Cup Cinderella story of Costa Rica. Italy and Uruguay have rather underperformed and will look to show case there talents.
The odds reflect just how tight this game could be. They have faced each other twice at the World Cup and both times Uruguay have failed to score. Italy have only lost 3 of their previous 19 World Cup games against South American opposition. Under Prandelli Italy no longer are a team which sit back and rely on their defensive expertise to grind out wins. In such an important game against Uruguay, and with their form being shaky, I expect the Italians to count on their traditional asset: their defense.
Uruguay recovered after the loss against Costa Rica to record a massive win over England, but it has to be said, the result was extremely lucky. England dominated the game from start to finish, could have scored at least 2 or 3 goals, but Uruguay was fortunate to escape and simply had a World Class player in Luis Suarez, who took the few chances that presented to his team.
I was not impressed by Uruguay: a slow, lackluster performance against Costa Rica followed by a match in which they defended the whole time, wasted minuted and got lucky. They are still a side to be reckoned with, but they need to improve if they are to make any noise in this World Cup.
Excellent in-play markets and top-class live streaming coverage. Bet at Unibet and claim your bonus now! I think Italy is the slight favorite, despite the odds suggesting a dead even game. I reckon the best pick here is the under 2,5 goals.
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