The Hindu : Sport : `Focus on Ghana for now'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 19, 2006

Sport

Sport

`Focus on Ghana for now'

Lipi not bothered about facing two other ranked teams in Group E

LONDON: Italy is the only seeded team at the World Cup that will play two higher-ranked opponents in the first round. It seems a strange happenstance, but when the FIFA rankings are involved, things sometimes get confusing.

Italy, which is ranked 13th by soccer's world governing body but was rated as one of the top eight teams for the tournament in Germany, will play the second-ranked Czech Republic and No. 5 United States in Group E.

The Italians, who won two of the first three World Cups and then added another title in 1982, first play 48th-ranked Ghana, which is also in the group.

One at a time

``At the moment I am only thinking about the match against Ghana, because the first game is always the most important,'' Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. ``The outcome of that match, whether we win, lose or draw, will decide how we will approach the second game. And the second game decides the approach for the third, and so on.''

Italy's roster will include playmaker Francesco Totti, who recently returned from an 81-day injury layoff, Filippo Inzaghi and Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Gianluigi Buffon, who has been engulfed in gambling allegations, is expected to be the team's starting goalkeeper.

``He's a great person,'' Totti said of Buffon. ``I don't believe he did anything, but even if he did make an error, I would stand by him.''

Avoiding Brazil

The bigger burden may be finishing in a position where it will avoid five-time champion Brazil in the second round.

The Czech Republic will face Italy in its final group match, and the loser could be the team that plays the defending champion, assuming Brazil wins Group F ahead of Croatia, Australia and Japan.

Czech Republic coach Karel Bruckner isn't taking the United States or Ghana for granted, however.

``Football has developed so much as a game, so weaker opponents are very often able to beat the team with a stronger reputation,'' Bruckner said.

Nedved's role

The Czechs, who reached the World Cup final twice as Czechoslovakia, will be led by Jan Koller, the recently injured forward who is the team's all-time leading scorer with 40 goals from 66 games.

Pavel Nedved, who came out of international retirement to help the team qualify in the playoffs, will also play a key role in the team's chances.

The Americans reached the quarterfinals four years ago, and 11 players from that squad are still with the team, including Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Kasey Keller, Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride and Eddie Pope.

Donovan, who scored two goals at the last World Cup in South Korea and Japan, isn't worried about possibly facing Brazil if the Americans advance.

``Would I bet that nine times out of 10 we're going to beat Brazil? Probably not,'' Donovan said.

Realistic

``Could we beat Brazil? Absolutely. So you have to be a little bit realistic, but we want to put ourselves in that situation. And if we're in that situation, I would still be confident.''

If the Americans hope to advance again, they are likely going to need Ghana to spring an upset on the Italians or the Czechs.

The four-time African Cup of Nations champion is one of four teams from the continent making its debut at the World Cup and, like everyone else, it wants to win.

The only other seeded team that will face a higher-ranked team in the first round is Argentina. The two-time World Cup champion is ninth in FIFA's list, but faces the third-ranked Netherlands in Group C. — AP

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