Italy v Slovakia Result

World Cup 2010 - Group F
Thursday 24th June
Ellis Park Stadium

	Slovakia	Italy
Scorers	Vittek 25, 73 Kopunek 89	Di Natale 81 Quagliarella 90
Yellow Cards	Strba 16 Vittek 40 Pekarik 50 Mucha 82	Cannavaro 31 Chiellini 67 Pepe 76 Quagliarella 83
Lineups	Jan Mucha Peter Pekarik Martin Skrtel Radoslav Zabavnik Jan Durica Zdeno Strba (K Kopunek 87) Miroslav Stoch Marek Hamsik Juraj Kucka Robert Vittek (S Sestak 90) Erik Jendrisek (M Petras 90)	Federico Marchetti Domenico Criscito (C Maggio 46) Giorgio Chiellini Fabio Cannavaro Gianluca Zambrotta Daniele de Rossi Gennaro Gattuso (F Quagliarella 46) Riccardo Montolivo (A Pirlo 56) Simone Pepe Vincenzo Iaquinta Antonio Di Natale
Corners	6	3
On Target	4	6
Fouls	20	17
Offside	1	3

Italy are the defending World Champions and will head to Ellis Park to meet Slovakia needing a win to secure the three points that will help them make their way into the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup. The Italians have a great record in the major tournaments but are yet to win a match in 2010, they seem to be able to grind out the big results when under pressure, so the time has come in Group F for them to get the win! They are an experienced squad who are the clear favourites to beat Slovakia here although it will not be a cakewalk by any means, especially if their first two matches of the group are anything to go by.

Slovakia have grown in stature over recent years as they showed in qualification and will be looking forward to taking on the World Champions. They will base their tournament on a strong defence and will not be easy to break down as they play in their first World Cup, but after a disappointing draw with New Zealand, followed by a loss to Paraguay they will need to beat Italy to progress to the last sixteen.

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Italy v Slovakia Match Odds

It is no surprise to see the Italians as the odds-on favourites here to take the three points at this stage as they look to move into the last 16 of the tournament. These odds may well change after each sides first two games but currently the Slovakians are given very little chance of upsetting the very experienced Italians at Ellis Park.

Match Day Squads and Key Players

Any team wanting to do well in the World Cup will need to have a fit and healthy squad available and with two matches already played for these two then the starting line-ups could be interesting. Italy have a very strong squad to pick from so they should able to absorb one or two injuries or suspensions for this match at Ellis Park. Marcelo Lippi knows what it takes to win the World Cup and will be looking to get his strongest line-up on show if they need the points to seal qualification.

Slovakia are a team with a thin squad so will need all their players fit and well if they are to have a chance of challenging the Italians. They have a select group if players that ply their trade in Europe so any injuries or suspensions to their experienced players will seriously harm their chances.

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Live Score and Result

Group F may well go down to the wire in terms of qualification with Paraguay meeting New Zealand at the same time as this match, both matches will be followed in the World Cup Live Scores for punters to follow their bet. As and when any major incidents happen in either match they will immediately become available so there is no need to miss a second of this crucial match. The final result will most likely see one of these teams celebrating and that has to be Italy, it is hard to argue with the odds as the World Champions look set to make serene progress to the last 16.

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