<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><a href="http://view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/entertainment/sports-news-august-2010/image/9534644?term=Serbia+football" target="_blank"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://view2.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9534644/sports-news-august-2010/sports-news-august-2010.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9534644" border="0" alt="Aug. 12, 2010 - 06309930 date 11 08 2010 Copyright imago Ane Edition Greece Football Friendly match Belgrade 11 08 2010 Serbia Greece 0 1 Niko Laos Spiropoulos left Greece against Milos Krasic right Serbia Serbia Greece 0 1 PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxGRE Football men National team international match Belgrade Action shot Vdig 2010 Square Highlight premiumd." width="300" height="253"></figure></div></a></div>
<p>Now that <a href="http://www.serieatalk.com/italy-come-back-to-win-2-1-against-estonia/3100">Italy have won their first match</a> of the EURO 2012 qualifiers against Estonia, it’s time to look ahead. The group which Italy have been put in isn’t difficult, but it could cause some unexpected results and slip-ups if the Azzurri aren’t careful. Probably the most dangerous teams in the group are Serbia, Northern Ireland, and Slovenia. And Italy will need to win their second match against the Faroe Islands to make sure that they don’t find themselves in a bad situation when they need to face the bigger teams.</p>
<p>The 2-1 comeback from Italy was wonderful, a positive result which highlights that the team has an inspired Cassano along with an eternal Pirlo. But that win was against Estonia, the 94th ranked team in the world, and if Italy wants to move up from 11th, they’re going to have to beat stronger teams. Italy is the best ranked team (<a href="http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&amp;rank=195">in the FIFA rankings</a>) in their group at 11th, Serbia is 13th, Slovenia is 19th, Northern Ireland is 59th, Estonia is 94th, and the Faroe Islands are 118th. The opponents aren’t too powerful, but Serbia already started well with a 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands.</p>
<p>The main opponents which will be battling for first place in Group C are Serbia, a strong team with players like Vidic, Stankovic, Krasic, and Kuzmanovic. They’re filled with top quality players which are used to playing in Europe’s top leagues, so it will be important to defeat them when the time comes, so that Italy can qualify directly at first place.</p>
<p>Serbia defeated Italy’s upcoming opponents, the Faroe Islands, 3-0 with no trouble. Italy should be able to win with the same scoreline, if not more so that they can hopefully surpass Serbia in the group and be in a good position when the direct clash comes.</p>
<p>Italy will also have to face Northern Ireland, who beat Slovenia 1-0, away at Slovenia. Nigel Worthington’s side now has about a month before they face the Azzurri in their next match in Ireland, and they’ll be looking to win against Italy in hopes of progressing out of the group. Northern Ireland will probably be the most passionate opponents which will fight to the end to get a result.</p>
<p>The team which Northern Ireland defeated, Slovenia, will be looking to recuperate points which they lost. In the World Cup Slovenia barely missed out progressing past the group stages, they finished behind USA and England, just one point off from both of those teams. The players to watch out for will be Koren and Birsa, two tricky playes which can create goals with little difficulty. Italy will face Slovenia later on in the qualification campaign, and it would be best to have already won another couple of matches before having to face them.</p>
<p>Most of these teams will be fighting for their spot at the EURO’s, and I repeat that Serbia, Northern Ireland, and Slovenia are tricky teams to play against. It will be important that the Azzurri grab three points against the Faroe Islands on September 7th, and if possible they should score plenty of goals to help out in the goal difference factor. After the Faroe Islands Italy will travel to Ireland to play Northern Ireland the 8th of October, and then they will host Serbia the 11th of October.</p>
<p>While I think that Prandelli’s side can get three wins out of three and take first place in the group, we’ll have to wait and see how much of a fight the opponents will put up. The problem is that if Italy lose against Serbia, that would mean heaps of trouble with the Serbians who are already first in the group.</p>
<p><em>What are your thoughts on the upcoming matches for Italy? Can they manage three wins in the next three matches? Share your thoughts by commenting below!</em></p>


Italy need win against Faroe Islands as Serbia looms large

Italy need win against Faroe Islands as Serbia looms large - World Soccer Talk

<div style="float: right;margin-left: 5px"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright" style="border: 0px initial initial" src="http://view4.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9266699/cesare-prandelli-takes/cesare-prandelli-takes.jpg?size=500&amp;imageId=9266699" border="0" alt="July 01, 2010 - Rome, Italy - epa02232223 Newly appointed Italian national soccer team head coach Cesare Prandelli reacts during a press conference in Rome, Italy, 01 July 2010. Prandelli took over the Italian national team after the Azzurri suffered an early elimination from the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. Prandelli, 52, left Fiorentina at the end of the Serie A season and on May 30 agreed to sign a four-year contract with the Italian Football Federation (FIGC." width="240" height="314"></figure></div></div>
<p>Italy has been punished, thanks to their poor performances Italy has lost ground in the FIFA and UEFA rankings. <em>La Gazzetta dello Sport </em>is reporting that Italy has fallen all the way down to 11th in the FIFA rankings, behind Chile and Egypt. This is an anticipation that will most likely be confirmed the 14th of July, when the FIFA rankings are updated. As for the European rankings which were created two years ago by Michel Platini, it is expected that Italy will fall down to 7th, behind Croatia and Russia who by the way, didn’t qualify to participate in this World Cup.</p>
<p>So Italian football is spiralling down a very bad path with the cracks in the system only slightly covered by Inter Milan’s treble victory. The bad thing is, Inter Milan won the treble with practically no Italians, and although Balotelli had some appearances, Materazzi, Santon, and Toldo played no part in winning three cups for the nerazzurri. And what seems to be missing in the Serie A is a team like what Juventus used to be, Italy’s team, full of Italian players who played together during the season, and then went to the World Cup knowing each other well. This created a solid group of &nbsp;Italian players that not only thrived in European club competition, but also played together to win international tournaments.</p>
<p>Sadly, a team that I’ve described above doesn’t seem to exist anywhere in the near future; Inter Milan have decided to stick with only foreign players, AC Milan are addicted to Brazilians like Ronaldinho, and Pato, Juventus are a strange mix with a sprinkle of Italian talent, and Roma are also lacking Italians. Only a few teams use Italian players, these being Cagliari, Genoa, and Sampdoria. Maybe there just isn’t enough Italian talent to go around, and maybe the talent there is, isn’t good enough.</p>
<p>But the Italian national team isn’t the worst off, France are expected to fall below the 20th mark with their terrible performances, but that’s about the only other big country that’s falling heavily. Italy are right in front of Greece (12th) and Serbia (13th), and for the EURO 2012 qualifications, Italy will be playing the Serbians. Italy will also be playing Sovenia, Northern Ireland, Estonia, and the Faroe Islands in the qualification for the 2012 EUROs which will be held in Poland and Ukraine. But the scary part is, that the draw for the qualification for Brazil 2014 will be affected by the FIFA rankings, therefore probably putting Italy with one of the stronger teams in the qualification group, and at risk of qualifying. I don’t want to see Italy in a qualifying group with Spain, Germany, or the Netherlands, because that means that we wouldn’t qualify if things continue the way they’re going.</p>
<p>As for the rest of the nations in the FIFA rankings, here’s what it will look like after the update on the 14th of July:</p>
<ol>
<li>Spain</li>
<li>Netherlands</li>
<li>Brazil</li>
<li>Germany</li>
<li>Argentina</li>
<li>Uruguay</li>
<li>England</li>
<li>Portugal</li>
<li>Egypt</li>
<li>Chile</li>
<li>Italy</li>
</ol>
<p>While Spain and the Netherlands will fight for first the World Cup final, all the other team’s positions should be like this come the next update. What are your thoughts on Italy’s future position in the FIFA rankings? Share your thoughts below.</p>


Italy will fall to 11th in FIFA rankings

Italy will fall to 11th in FIFA rankings - World Soccer Talk

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Italy need win against Faroe Islands as Serbia looms large

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Italy will fall to 11th in FIFA rankings