GLI AZZURRI

After a wonderful Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland, it’s time to get to the qualification round of the World Cup in Brazil 2014, which means that there will be no league games in the major European leagues this week.

Italy travels to Sofia, Bulgaria, on September 7 to open their World Cup qualification, followed quickly by the fixture against Malta in Modena, Italy on Tuesday, September 11. These two games are expecting to be easy wins for the men in blue as the Azzurri boss aims to build from the EURO Cup. The tactician has made several call-ups for the two games which include plenty of fresh faces. Mr. Prandelli has done a good job so far mixing the team with talented youngsters and veterans. Up front has been completely revamped since the Euro in June as Mario Balotelli is on a leave due to eye surgery and Antonio Cassano has also been left out. Newcomer, Lorenzo Insigne, “the wonder kid” I like to call him, will debut at the senior level. This young lad is swiftly demonstrating his potential more than others have predicted. In recent years, it seemed as if Italian soccer was in trouble with developing youth. On the contrary, as there is a bright future waiting ahead as there is a lot of quality on this team. Prandelli opted not to include one quality player, namely Stephan El Shaarawy of Milan.

Here is the list of players along with their ages, who have been drafted by Prandelli:

GOALKEEPERS: BUFFON (JUVENTUS, 34), SALVATORE SIRIGU (PSG, 25), VIVIANO (FIORENTINA2, 27)

DEFENDERS: ASTORI (CAGLIARI, 25), BALZARETTI (ROMA 31), BARZAGLI (JUVENTUS 31), BONUCCI (JUVENTUS 25), CASSANI (FIORENTINA, 29), MAGGIO (NAPOLI 30), OGBONNA (TORINO, 24)

MIDFIELD: DE ROSSI (ROMA, 29), DIAMANTI (BOLOGNA, 29), GIACCHERINI (JUVENTUS, 27), MARCHISIO (JUVENTUS, 26), PIRLO (JUVENTUS, 33), NOCERINO (MILAN, 27), POLI (SAMPDORIA, 23), VERRATTI (PSG, 20)

FORWARDS: OSVALDO (ROMA, 26), PAZZINI (MILAN, 28), GIOVINCO (JUVENTUS, 25), BORINI (LIVERPOOL, 21), DESTRO (ROMA, 21), INSIGNE ( NAPOLI, 21)

OTHER MATCHES:

Group A

Croatia 20:15 Macedonia

Group A

Wales 20:45 Belgium

Group B

Malta 20:00 Armenia

Group B

Bulgaria 20:45 Italy

Group C

Kazakhstan 18:00 Republic of Ireland

Group C

Germany 20:45 Faroe Islands

Group D

Estonia 20:00 Romania

Group D

Andorra 20:30 Hungary

Group D

Netherlands 20:30 Turkey

Group E

Albania 20:30 Cyprus

Group E

Slovenia 20:30 Switzerland

Group E

Iceland 20:45 Norway

Group F

Russia 17:00 Northern Ireland

Group F

Azerbaijan 18:00 Israel

Group F

Luxembourg 20:45 Portugal

Group G

Liechtenstein 19:00 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group G

Lithuania 20:15 Slovakia

Group G

Latvia 20:30 Greece

Group H

Montenegro 20:30 Poland

Group H

Moldova 20:45 England

Group I

Georgia 19:00 Belarus

Group I

Finland 20:30 France

8 September 2012

Group A

Scotland – Serbia

Group B

Denmark – Czech Republic

11 September 2012

Group A

Belgium – Croatia

Group A

Serbia – Wales

Group A

Scotland – FYROM

Group B

Bulgaria – Armenia

Group B

Italy – Malta

Group C

Austria – Germany

Group C

Sweden – Kazakhstan

Group D

Hungary – Netherlands

Group D

Romania – Andorra

Group D

Turkey – Estonia

Group E

Cyprus – Iceland

Group E

Norway – Slovenia

Group E

Switzerland – Albania

Group F

Israel – Russia

Group F

Northern Ireland – Luxembourg

Group F

Portugal – Azerbaijan

Group G

Bosnia and Herzegovina – Latvia

Group G

Greece – Lithuania

Group G

Slovakia – Liechtenstein

Group H

England – Ukraine

Group H

Poland – Moldova

Group H

San Marino – Montenegro

Group I

France – Belarus

Group I

Georgia – Spain