So all the critics of Serie A that continue to espouse that old, worn and dead stereotype that Serie A is boring and defensive. WTF do you have to say to this::::

Italy weathered an early storm by Ukraine to come out victorious in another Prandelli 4-3-1-2 formation with Rossi and Matri scoring the goals. More importantly it solidified three successful games with the new look Azzurri for 2011, clearly indicating that a move from the old guard was not only needed but finally taking shape.

Some Slovenian ex-superstar (or not) Zahovic (who?) said, prior to the game, that Slovenia would outclass Italy easily and win by a scoreline of 2-0 while dominating 70% of the possession, or some shit like that. He said Italy have no more good players, and that a slow guy like Ranocchia would be taken advantage of by the Slovenians, 7 of which play in Serie A and therefore accustomed to Italian calcio, and again, be able to easily outclass Italian players.

Italy 1 (Rossi 81) – Germany 1 (Klose 16)
A completely new-look Italy having dropped 4 average years from their 2010 World Cup version, take on a German team that has more-or-less stayed the same consistent team from their World Cup 2010 semi-final team. Prandelli lines up an attack oriented 4-3-1-2 with Ranocchia, Giovinco and Motta earning their first International caps.