WORLD CUP 2010: Italy 1 Paraguay 1 - Daniele De Rossi spares world champions blushes after Alcaraz opener

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdKWY2_xQVEendofvid
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By Ian Ladyman at the Green Point Stadium, in Cape Town

Head boy: Antolin Alcaraz rises above Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele De Rossi to head Paraguay into a shock lead


If World Cups test character as much as they do ability then Italy may well mount a credible defence of their title after surviving a monsoon and the loss of goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to recover from a goal down.

Back in Italy, Marcello Lippi's 2006 World champions were written off before the tournament had properly begun.

And for an hour in rain-lashed Cape Town it was perhaps easy to see why as they laboured dreadfully to bring any fluency to their Group F opener.

Certainly this was a far from accomplished performance from Lippi's team and they looked lost and directionless an hour in to the game after Buffon had conceded a first-half goal to newly-signed Wigan defender Antol in Alcaraz and then succumbed to a sciatic nerve problem at half-time.

But just when things were beginning to look rather troublesome for the Italians, Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi steered home a corner at the far post in the 63rd minute to give them a more than satisfactory opening point.

With New Zealand and Slovakia to come, Italy should now be confident of making progress, even if Lippi will know his team must play much better than this.


Get in there: Stunned Paraguayan fans celebrate their team's opening goal against the world champions


He said: 'I am satisfied with the performance and with our approach. We have to make some improvement but I was happy with the way that we recovered from being behind.

'We are here now. We are here with our hearts and our minds and we are here physically. If anyone had any doubt then they shouldn't have now.'

Italy certainly looked in a little trouble at half-time.

After a day of biblical weather and trouble between stewards and riot police outside the stadium, the first half of this game was as dreary as could be imagined. At least until a defender who will play in Lancashire next season arrived to bring the match to life.


Putting the boot in: Paraguay's Antolin Alcaraz jumps into a tackle on Italy's Gianluca Zambrotta


Alcaraz may not be a household name in the Barclays Premier League, having only signed from Bruges in Belgium last month, but in conditions that he will become rather familiar with at Wigan next season he made his mark on the World Cup with a headed goal six minutes before half time.

Neither side had truly come to terms with the game up until then, though Italy had perhaps been the slightly more assertive team.


In and out: Gianluigi Buffon was replaced between the posts by Federico Marchetti


However, a free-kick from another defender, Aureliano Torres, caused panic in the Italian defence in the 39th minute and Alcaraz jumped higher than Fabio Cannavaro to head the ball past Buffon and into the corner of the net.

It was a terrifically well executed goal and one that prompted Lippi to shrug his shoulders in what passes for a show of irritation for him. In terms of the game itself, it was just what was needed.


Net gain: Daniele De Rossi breaks through the Paraguay defence to spare the Italians blushes to prod his shot into the empty net


Buffon failed to reappear for the second half - although he expects to be fit again in a couple of days - and when Federico Marchetti took his place, the first thing the Cagliari goalkeeper did was watch a fierce angled drive from Enrique Vera fly narrowly wide of his left-hand post.

A lack of subsequent progress in terms of finding an equaliser prompted Lippi to take off Claudio Marchisio and send on the experienced Mauro Camoranesi in the 59th minute. By this point, Italy's need was beginning to grow a little desperate


No holds barred: Italy captain Cannavaro wins the ball with a touch tackle on Victor Caceres


Soon after, though, Paraguay gave them a goal as a corner from the left from Simone Pepe was missed completely by goalkeeper Justo Villar and De Rossi arrived to volley the ball into the net adroitly from six yards.

It was a dreadful error of judgement from Villar, the Paraguayan captain, but from that point on the Italians grew in confidence and Pepe, of Udinese, proved himself their most adept performer, cutting in from his station on the left on one occasion to drive a shot in to Villar's midriff.



Blue order: De Rossi made sure Italy salvaged a point as their began the defence of their world crown in Cape Town


MATCH FACTS ITALY (4-3-3): Buffon 6 (Marchetti 46min, 6); Zambrotta 5, Cannavaro 5, Chiellini 5, Criscito 6; De Rossi 7, Marchisio 6 (Camoranesi 59, 6), Montolivo 6; Pepe 5, Gilardino 5 (Di Natale 73 5), Iaquinta 5. Booked: Camoranesi.

PARAGUAY (4-1-3-2): Villar 6; Bonet 6, Alcaraz 8, Da Silva 7, Morel 6; Caceres 6; Vera 7, Riveros 7, Torres 7 (Santana 60, 6); Valdez 6 (Santa Cruz 68, 6), Barrios 6(Cardozo 76). Booked: Caceres.

Man of the match: Antolin Alcaraz.

Referee: Benito Archundia (Mex) [endtext]