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Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez will not make a special case of Italy, despite his belief that Monday's opponents are favourites to be crowned world champions this summer.

With just the weekend left to prepare for their World Cup debut, the Ecuadorians are upbeat about their chances.

"They have great players, but I never do individual marking," said Gomez.

"I didn't do it with [Brazilians] Rivaldo, Ronaldo or Romario in the qualifiers, and next Monday will be the same.

"We will play as we always did, with a 4-5-1 scheme. Agustin Delgado will be the forward and we will play with a lot of order but no man-to-man marking."

Italy confirmed their team on Thursday, so confident is Trapattoni that he has turned up the correct formula.

And Azzurri admirer Gomez conceded: "Giovanni Trapattoni has a powerful squad that will go very far, for sure. They are my favourite to win the cup".