Italy had a dramatic 2-1 victory over England Saturday, a game determined by fitness, or lack thereof, of the England side. Nevertheless, an Italy squad that had a few wrenches in it still put out a stellar performance in their rout, let’s take a look at how each player did.
Salvatore Sirigu- Sirigu deserves recognition simply because he was unsure yesterday if he was going to start in place of an injured Buffon. That being said, Sirigu was unstoppable, making top class saves against an England side that had 18 shots, 8 of which were on goal. Italian fans can breath much easier after this performance, both for 2014 and the future. 9/10
Giorgio Chiellini- It is to be expected that Chiellini plays well and anchors the back four, and today was no different. He was solid on defense, but some poor moves on the ball results in a slightly detracted score for the Juventus center back turned left back. 6/10
Matteo Darmian- I was very impressed with Darmian’s abilities at right back. He was quick and moved the ball well and helped push the attack, a job I thought would be done by Ignazio Abate, who did not see the field. Though his defense on the counter attack could be better, his offense and chance-generating ability was above average. 6.5/10
Andrea Barzagli- Barzagli kept quiet at center back, and did not contribute much to the attack. His performance was solid and reliable, something Italy will need down the stretch, but it was not much more than that. 5/10
Gabriel Paletta- If any one defensive player moves to the bench after this game, I believe it will be Paletta. The England goal was largely because of Paletta’s inability to mark Sturridge on what was nevertheless a great cross, but his performance was still a bit lackluster nevertheless. I expect Cesare Prandelli to go in a different direction against Costa Rica. 4/10
Antonio Candreva- Candreva put in about 79 minutes of work today, and provided many chances for the Azzurri, oft playing deeper in the attacking third than Mario Balotelli. After today, Candreva could very well be the diamond in the rough Prandelli needs. 7.5/10
Claudio Marchisio- It seems as if every time Marchisio plays, he is just further proving how remarkable of a talent he is. With a world class strike from just outside the 18, Marchisio was an integral part of the Azzurri on both sides of the ball throughout the entire match. 10/10
Daniele De Rossi- De Rossi dissapointed me in this match. Not to say that he played poorly, but he was a bit klutzy in some challenges and did not generate too many offensive chances. Not a performance worth of a benching, nor should he be, but he will need to step up his performance in the remaining matches. 5.5/10
Andrea Pirlo- Pirlo did it all today. Stellar on defense and responsible for the dummy that led to the Marchisio goal, whilst almost landing an immaculate free kick at the end of the game. Pirlo, alongside Marchisio was, is, and will continue to make Italy tick. 9/10
Marco Verratti- Verratti only put in 57 minutes of work before being subbed out in favor of Thiago Motta. His performance was blue collar, nothing spectacular or anything that would jump off the stat sheet, but enough to where he made consistent, subtle contributions on both sides of the ball. 6/10
Mario Balotelli- Super Mario, with a taylor-made finish (largely thanks to English laziness) in the 50th minute was difficult to execute, and proved to be the nail in the coffin in the match. He generated chances, and worked well with Candreva as the lone forward (in name only for the most part). Replaced by Ciro Immobile in the 73rd minute, Balotelli put out a tremendous performance this afternoon. 9/10
Substitutes
Marco Parolo- A 79th minute substitute for Candreva, Parolo did not nearly have as much of an impact in a time when Italy needed insurance. Need more from him when his number is called. 4/10
Thiago Motta- A 57th minute sub for Verratti, Motta helped defensively, but not much offensively, staying mostly quiet for his time on the pitch. Nevertheless, he was called on for defense and he provided just that. 6/10
Ciro Immobile- A 73rd minute sub, the youngster got an opportunity to play in a late game situation, and did a good job in fitting in the attack seamlessly. Immobile will likely be called on in multiple occasions this tournament, and though his performance was not much to write home about today, he proved that he can perform, and perform well at this level. 6.5/10
