Group F - Matchday 3

Slovakia - Italy 0-2 (0-1)

Paraguay - New Zealand 1-0 (0-0)

Two points from two games may represent an achievement for outsiders New Zealand in this group, but for Squadra Azzura it is a serious cause for concern. The world champions still haven't won any game this year, and the game against Slovakia should have been a new starting point for Lippi's team if they want to advance for the second stage and try to defend their title. And so it was for Italy, which won the game against the slovaks with 2-0 and showed a real improvement in their game. We all know that Italy is used with the slow starts at the final tournaments (for example when they won their 3 rd world title in 1982 they finished second in the group stage, after 3 draws with Poland, Cameroon and Peru) and after all they reach the eliminatory stages with very good chances of winning the tournament. Let's see if they are strong enough this year.

In the last game of this group Paraguay assured their group win in front of the ambitious side of the All Whites. Before the game All Whites hoped they can pass the group stage (a draw could have been enough for them too), but Paraguay wanted to be sure of the first place in group F in order to meet a weaker opponent in the next stage. The final score was 1-0 for the south americans after a late goal from striker Valdez.