Italy must avoid Scottish ambush

A hard-earned 2-1 win against Ukraine in Kiev last week was enough to see Italy leapfrog France into second place in Group B.

Despite their now favourable position in this qualifying group, Italy's presence in next year's Euro 2008 finals is anything but secure.

The world champions could still miss out on Euro 2008, to be co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, if they fail to beat Scotland in Glasgow on November 17.

Despite Italy's important win in Kiev, one has to admit that in their opening nine qualifiers the Azzurri have been a far cry from Marcello Lippi's World Cup-winning team.

Not that Italy played dazzling or entertaining football on way to becoming world champions for the fourth time in their history 14 months ago.

It was the players' winning mentality and the good atmosphere in the dressing room that inspired Italy's success in Germany.

It seems that things changed for the worse when Roberto Donadoni took over from Lippi. To begin with, Donadoni had to do without the services of Roma's talisman Francesco Totti and Milan centre-back Alessandro Nesta, who both quit the national side after last year's World Cup finals.

Although Totti and Nesta are definitely world-class players, they were not instrumental in Italy's World Cup success, mainly due to injuries they sustained before or during the competition.

Under Donadoni, Italy have generally failed to impress, although one has to give them credit for winning six and drawing one of their last seven Euro 2008 qualifiers.

It also has to be said that in this qualifying campaign, Italy have rarely been at full strength.

To further complicate matters, Group B has turned out to be one of the most difficult pools in these qualifiers, with four strong teams, Scotland, Italy, France and Ukraine, all in the hunt for only two qualifying berths. Furthermore, one has to point out that, with the exception of Scotland, the remaining three teams advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with Italy and France going on to contest the final.

As things stand, Italy trail surprise leaders Scotland by a point whereas France are only one point below Donadoni's team.

Ukraine, who have a game in hand, are seven points adrift of Italy and need to beat Scotland in Glasgow on October 13 if they are to revive their qualifying hopes. If Ukraine slip out of contention next month, their interest in this competition is likely to diminish, making their final fixture at home against France a possible winnable game for Les Bleus.

If such a scenario were to materialise, France would be surefire favourites to win their final three qualifiers against Faroe Islands, Lithuania and Ukraine, in the process raising questions about Italy's qualification.

The Azzurri are expected to collect maximum points from their remaining two home fixtures against Georgia and Faroe Islands. Their credentials will surely be seriously tested when they travel to Scotland in November.

Victories over Ukraine (home) and Georgia (away) would give Scotland an edge over Italy before their direct encounter as Alex McLeish's high-fliers would only need a draw to qualify.

The path to the Euro 2008 finals for Italy is anything but plainsailing. Qualification seems so near yet so far. Italy's fate is likely to be influenced by the outcome of next month's Scotland-Ukraine qualifier. However, if Italy want to protect their reputation as one of the world's top teams, they should go and win on Scottish soil.

Failure to do so would probably end Italy's hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals. In 1984 Italy, who had been crowned world champions two years earlier, failed to book their place in the European Championship finals... will history repeat itself?

Serie A statistics

0 wins for Cagliari in 13 visits to Parma as the hosts spurned a first-half lead to share the spoils with their opponents for only the third time. Christian Vieri hit a late goal but this was not enough for Fiorentina to finish off 10-man Atalanta at the Artemio Franchi Stadium. An Atalanta win in Tuscany has been missing since Jan. 3, 1993 (1-0).

1 team only, Roma, have collected maximum points from their opening three fixtures. Despite not playing to their best on Sunday, Luciano Spalletti's team were still good enough to see off Reggina for the fourth time - the first in two years - in eight visits to the Oreste Granillo Stadium. The last time these two sides shared the spoils was on March 14, 2004 (0-0). Torino continued to show signs of improvement as they left Palermo unbeaten for the first time in many a year thanks to Alvaro Recoba's equaliser. Torino have not won at the Renzo Barbera Stadium since September 23, 1962 (1-0).

2nd win in a row for high-flying Napoli who scored a goal in each half to beat Sampdoria for the first time since April 28, 1996 (1-0). In a dull match at the Olympic Stadium, Lazio and Empoli shared the spoils in the only goalless draw of the day. For the record, Empoli have never come out of the capital with a win in seven visits.

5th win for Udinese in 34 visits to Turin as Pasquale Marino's side bounced back from their home rout against Napoli with an away win against Juventus. Antonio Di Natale scored the winner in the second half. European champions Milan salvaged a 1-1 draw against Siena after defender Alessandro Nesta struck in injury time. This was the first ever draw between these two sides in five matches in Tuscany.

9 teams, Torino, Lazio, Reggina, Catania, Genoa, Parma, Siena, Empoli and Livorno, are still searching for their first win of the season. Juventus have the most prolific attack with eight goals scored. Roma are still to concede a goal. By contrast, bottom-placed Livorno have the worst defensive record as they have already let in 10 goals. Roma, Inter, Milan, Fiorentina, Atalanta, Torino and Lazio are still undefeated. Palermo and Siena have collected five points less than they had after three games last season. Juve's French striker David Trezeguet leads the goalscorers' list with four goals (none from penalties).

10th Inter win in 11 home matches against Catania as the Nerazzurri scored a goal in each half to go second, just two points adrift of leaders Roma. The only time Catania came out of the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium unbeaten was on December 10, 1961 (1-1). Newcomers Genoa were left to rue missed chances as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Livorno. Prior to Sunday, Genoa-Livorno last shared the spoils in December 1947 (0-0). Livorno's only win in 12 visits to Genoa dates back to May 28, 1939 (1-0).

19 goals were scored on the third day: 10 were netted by the hosts and the remaining nine by the visitors. Foreigners contributed with seven goals. There were only six first-half goals. Neither braces nor hat-tricks were recorded. Atalanta defender Claudio Rivalta committed the only own goal of the day. Fiorentina's veteran striker Vieri came on as a substitute and scored. Meanwhile, there were five players - Carrozzieri (Atalanta), Vidigal (Livorno), Juric (Genoa), Valdez (Reggina) and Frick (Siena) - who were sent off. Torino coach Walter Novellino was ordered off the bench. Of the three penalties awarded by referees last weekend, two were ordered by Dondarini in Genoa-Livorno. Whereas Omar Milanetto's effort came off the bar, Francesco Tavano kept his cool as he put Livorno in front from the spot in the 55th minute. Elsewhere, Paolo Cast-ellini, of Parma, saw his second-half effort well blocked by Marco Fortin.