Swiss further dampen Italian spirits in draw
Lippi's men lack creativity
Italy were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland last night, dashing the spirits of Italian fans who were hoping for a Swiss appetiser before the World Cup holders fly out to South Africa.
Playing without Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian back four recovered some of the composure they lost in their defeat by Mexico last Thursday, but a lacklustre Italy still suffered from a dearth of ideas going forward.
Switzerland had the best of the chances, recovering their bite to dominate the midfield and open the scoring in the 10th minute.
Gokhan Inler took advantage of fine running off the ball by Alexander Frei to place a shot from the edge of the penalty area past Federico Marchetti in the Italian goal.
Italy equalised five minutes later when Fabio Quagliarella awkwardly headed a loose ball in the goalmouth, which arced over Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio and in off the opposite post.
Apart from that lucky break the Napoli forward rarely managed to trouble the Swiss defence while Riccardo Montolivo's ideas in midfield were let down by wayward passing.
Inler marshalled the Swiss, let down only by flighty control by their two forwards Frei and Twente's Blaise Nkufo as well as last-ditch defending by Salvatore Bocchetti.
Italy's best chances came with the few moments they managed to sneak the ball out to the wings through their backs, Gianluca Zambrotta and Christian Maggio.
An edgy looking Italian coach Marcello Lippi substituted Quagliarella halfway through the second half, bringing on Antonio di Natale while Antonio Gilardino replaced Giampalo Pazzini but the Azzurri struggled to hold on to the ball.
Switzerland came close to scoring again in the final minutes through Philippe Senederos and a free-kick from substitute Hakan Yakin, while Marchetti parried a blistering long-range effort from 18-year-old Xherdan Shaqiri.
The Italians will now head to South Africa where they will be expected to advance from a Group F comprising New Zealand, Paraguay and Slovakia.
The Swiss, led by the experienced Ottmar Hitzfeld and coming off some indifferent warm-ups including a loss to Costa Rica, are in Group H with European champions Spain, Honduras and Chile.