| ITALY
Best finals record:
Winners 1968
Qualification record:
Won Group One
|
Vieri injured
|
Coach: Dino Zoff
Squad: Gianluigi Buffon,
Francesco Antonioli,
Giuseppe Pancaro,
Fabio Cannavaro,
Filippo Inzaghi,
Francesco Toldo,
Ciro Ferrara,
Vincenzo Montella,
Demetrio Albertini,
Alessandro Nesta,
Angelo Di Livio,
Paolo Negro,
Alessandro Del Piero,
Paolo Maldini,
Luigi Di Biagio,
Antonio Conte,
Gianluca Zambrotta,
Gianluca Pessotto,
Massimo Ambrosini,
Francesco Totti,
Marco Delvecchio,
Stefano Fiore,
Mark Iuliano
Prospects
Italy come into the Euro 2000 finals still trying to live up to the high expectations that always face them.
Coach Dino Zoff came through a difficult finish to the qualifying campaign as his men stumbled into the finals.
Everything looked to be going according to plan when the Azzurri started their qualifying campaign superbly by beating Wales 2-0 at Anfield.
They followed that with a 2-0 victory over Switzerland in Udine, but the result which really stood out was a 2-1 win over the Danes in Copenhagen.
The first signs of trouble however came with an embarrassing home draw against Belarus in Ancona.
And a 3-2 home defeat by Denmark - after being 2-0 up - left them needing a point in Minsk to qualify.
It didn't prove easy for Zoff's expensive squad but they did get that crucial point from a goalless draw.
Zoff has a galaxy of Serie A stars to choose from, almost too many.
It's the midfield area which could prove a worry.
Demetrio Albertini has been the heartbeat of the team for a long time, but lacks the flair to open up defences.
Francesco Totti can do that, but like Alex Del Piero he too plays slightly further forward.
Italian defences are historically miserly, and with young star Fabio Cannavaro marshalling the forces and Paolo Maldini still around the Azzurri won't give much away.
In goal Gianluigi Buffon has huge talent but is prone to occasional howlers.
With the players they have to choose from the Italians should at least reach the later stages, especially after missing out on the Group of Death.
Whether they go all the way could well depend on Zoff's team selection.