ITALY v CZECH REPUBLIC - MATCH PREVIEW

Group E Permutations

All four teams have a chance of going through to the Second Round.

If first-placed Italy beat the Czech Republic they will qualify top. Italy can also finish top if they draw with the Czechs as long as Ghana don't beat the USA. If Ghana do beat the USA and Italy and the Czech's draw then Ghana will finish top with Italy second.

If the Czechs beat Italy then they fill finish top provided Ghana don't beat the USA by one goal greater than the Czecs beat Italy.

The USA need to beat Ghana and hope on the result of Itlay versus Czech Republic If the Italians win then a straight win for the USA is enough to secure their passage.

If the game is drawn then the USA need to beat Ghana by four to qualify.

If the Czechs win then the USA need to beat Ghana by at least five plus whatever the goal margin in the Czech Republic versus Italy game is.

Czech Republic v Italy

The most open group of the eight going into the final round of games sees the possibility of all four teams qualifying for the Knock-Out Stages.

Italy are the slight favourites, sitting on top of Group E by one point. They do however face second-place Czech Republic to decide the winner of the group and this is not an easy tie.

After the heroics of Ghana against the Czechs, they will fancy their chances against the USA and could finish top if the Italy/Czech Republic game ends in a stalemate. The USA could also go through provided they win against the African side and the other result is favourable to them.

The major news for the Czechs is the return of second-top scorer Milan Baros who missed the opening two games with a foot injury that dogged the tail end of his season. With ariel threat Jan Koller absent for the remainder of the tournament, the news of Baros' return will be a major philip for the Czech supporters. They were impotent in attack in their 2-0 defeat to Ghana and missed the threat of Jan Koller in the air.

Baros is not the same kind of player but with twenty-six international goals in forty-six pre-World Cup appearances he is more threatening than their previous frontline of Jiri Stajner and Vratislav Lokvenc. He will however be short in match fitness and this must be a worry for the Eastern European side.

The Czechs' started their game against Ghana with only one striker on the pitch, Lokvenc, and brought on Stajner for midfielder Karel Poborsky later in the game. This plan backfired so expect two out-and-out strikers to play against Italy, probably Baros and Marek Heinz, who has scored a mere five goals for his country. He will replace the suspended Lokvenc.

They will have to be sharp against an Italian defence that has only conceded one goal in this tournament so far - and that was due to an individual mistake by Cristian Zaccardo rather than anything committed as a defensive unit.

Traditionally shut-up-shop merchants the Italians only conceded eight goals in qualifying, although their group was particularly weak (Norway were the next-best opposition). Baros and Heinz will therefore have to be on top form if they are to break this defence, which may be difficult for a striker just coming back from injury and one with a mediocre return for his number of starts.

It is hard to judge Italy after their farcical match against the USA. With three players sent off, two of them Americans, the Italians launched wave after wave of attacks at the USA goal but Kasey Keller and some resolute defending kept them out. Their creative play, as befits most Italian teams, was first rate but they had problems converting their chances, with Alessandro Del Peiro being spectacularly denied by Keller.

Due to his sending off, Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi is banned for this match allowing AC Milan's Gennaro Gattuso to earn his first start of the World Cup, after replacing Totti in the USA game. Simone Perrotta is a doubt after picking up a knock against the Americans, with centre-back Fabio Grosso likely to start in a more defensive line-up.

The information garnered by Czech coach Karel Bruckner from his Italian based players Pavel Nedved, Marek Jankulovski and Tomas Ujfalusi may be vital for the success of his team. Their experience of Serie A football will also be a decisive factor in the game although they will be without Ujfalusi for this game after his red card in the 2-0 defeat to Ghana. The form of influential midfielder Nedved is even more vital than usual therefore and if he can provide the creative spark that will allow Baros to score goals then the Czech's can easily dig out the result they need in this game. Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian captain has singled out Nedved as being their dangerman.

SELECTION OF ODDS FOR ITALY v CZECH REPUBLIC. MANY MORE ON THE MATCH COUPON

Czech Republic 16/5
Draw 21/10
Italy 1/1

Czech Republic 1-0 7/1
Czech Republic 2-0 14/1
Czech Republic 2-1 12/1

Italy 1-0 11/2
Italy 2-0 7/1
Italy 2-1 15/2


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