re: Czech vs Italy espn right now

That was his first red card for the national team.

So close for the check marks

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Columbus' 5th string youth academy RB

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At least he cares about this country.

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U.S. should take note.

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yea and go against the values the country was founded on, i highly doubt your relatives where here with the native americans.

Bolivia-Venezuela on Bein. Bolivia's pitch is, well, interesting. Colombia-Argentina on after that, which should be pretty good.

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Pirlo and Ballotelli can both be fun to watch on the offensive end, but in general, they are not a fun, attacking side to watch if you don't have a vested interest. And this game was boring as shite.

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They were fun in the Euro 2012 Final. I thoroughly enjoyed their play.

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was born there, but that doesn't give you Italian citizenship right away b/c his parents are Egyptian

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No, El Shaarawy has been an Italian citizen from birth. His mother is Italian; his father is Egyptian.

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They were fun in the Euro 2012

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pirlo in euro 2012 had a run like forlan did in the 2010 WC. he was just fricking dominant

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pirlo in euro 2012 had a run like forlan did in the 2010 WC. he was just fricking dominant

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Italy's NT has revolved around Pirlo's pull for a decade. The disaster of the last WC was losing him at the last minute. Euro 2012 was Pirlo being Pirlo.

Itlay's prospects at the next WC still depend heavily on Pirlo but now Verratti can fill that role without changing tactics drastically. Of course, Verratti's still a kid and not likely to lead them that deeply if Pirlo's out but he should be at least a safeguard against the same rudderless ship Lippi sailed in South Africa.

Ultimately, Italy's prospects for Brazil 2014 may well be defined by this dynamic of emerging stars behind established veterans with their usual share of injury concerns.

It would seem that U-21 eligibles like Balotelli, El Sharawaay and De Sciglio are already full NT regulars in addition to Verratti even if he's still on the U-21 roster.

But Italy also has an almost unprecedented wealth of young attacking talent just behind them like Insigne, Destro, Immobile, Gabbiadini, Sansone, Paloschi, Florenzi. Prandelli loves youth, which sets him apart from most previous NT managers, and whether any of these kids take a big step forward this next year may well tell the story of how much more formidable Italy may be in Brazil compared with the Euro 2012 squad.

Insigne may be the real variable of these players. He could mature into offering a similar creative genius in the front three which Italy's never replaced since Totti retired Cassano is certainly of that quality but also fat and crazy. Who knows if he'll have a good year and return to the NT or open a pizzeria in Bari.

Regarding the earlier post about Italy being a sleeper for Brazil, I would say that Italy probably fits that description every time. It's not often that people consider Italy one of the clear favorites but they continue have a ton of success generation after generation.

Part of that is simply underestimating the depth of quality players Italy has since they all play in Serie A. For example: Bologna's Diamante would garner a lot more attention when people glanced over rosters if he played in the EPL (which he would if he were Belgian, Dutch etc). No one would have been surprised by Balzaretti and Marchisio's massive Euro performances had they been watching them at Palermo and Juve.