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Each season which precedes a World Cup always carries an additional bit of intrigue than any other. Not only are the usual club prizes on offer but there are plenty of talking points in regards to which players will represent their nations at the tournament.
Italy have already booked their place in the show-piece event next summer in Brazil ahead of Monday’s final qualifying match-up with Armenia at the Stadio San Paolo, and Cesare Prandelli is undoubtedly gazing down the road as he prepares to carefully choose over the coming months who will be boarding the plane to South America.
There is still time for those yet to fully convince the Azzurri boss that they deserve a spot in the squad with others on the fringes keen to take full advantage. Here are seven Italians with something to prove ahead of the World Cup.
Thiago Motta – Paris Saint-Germain
The Brazil-born oriundo returned to the Azzurri ranks for September’s qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, representing Italy for the first time since the Euro 2012 final.
After struggling through niggling injuries last term, the 31-year-old has come flying out of the gate in his first seven Ligue 1 matches this season, making 18 of 20 attempted tackles, completing 93% of his passes, and creating 12 chances whilst registering a Performance Score of 217 in the process.
He has also been imperious in PSG’s first two Champions League encounters, bagging a pair of goals and four Squawka Best Awards.
Motta’s excellent form in the early going for the French giants has led to his recall to the Italy squad after a lengthy absence, but he will have to maintain such a high level of play if he is to ultimately be summoned to the country of his birth next summer by Prandelli.
Giuseppe Rossi – Fiorentina
Like fellow foreign-born Italy international Thiago Motta, Rossi only just made his way back into the Azzurri side, having missed two years of national team action through consecutive catastrophic knee injuries.
Rossi’s highly-anticipated call-up, made for Italy’s final pair of qualifiers with Denmark and Armenia, comes on the back of a brilliant scoring run in the early stages of the present campaign in which he has bagged six goals in eight appearances between Serie A and the Europa League.
His remarkably quick restoration of Prandelli’s set-up is indicative of the Italy tactician’s high regard for the striker, and given his clear demonstration that the long lay-off has not affected his level of play, his inclusion certainly warranted and bodes well for his World Cup prospects.
As a result, the 26-year-old looks good value to make the final cut, but with the high majority of the season still to go, will have to show that he can sustain his success to put his place on the roster under lock and key.
Federico Balzaretti – Roma
A torrid maiden campaign with Roma after his switch to the capital last summer saw Balzaretti drop off the Azzurri radar despite a valiant series of performances in Euro 2012, and it has taken the former Palermo man nearly a year to force his way back into the side.
With a tear-jerking winner in the Derby della Capitale and some positive showings that have seen the left-back complete 87% of his passes, average five defensive actions per game, and make 13 total tackles, the 31-year-old has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts under new Giallorossi boss Rudi Garcia.
Yet despite a Performance Score of 219 and a trio of Squawka Best Awards to his name, Balzaretti hasn’t nearly been flawless this term, as he struggled against the pacey Jonathan Biabiany in his club’s 3-1 win over Parma in September and was sent off for a second bookable offence against Inter in his most recent Serie A appearance.
In light of such setbacks, the 31-year-old will need to send a message to Prandelli that he can fully recover the consistency he was once known for and be an asset for Italy as they look to erase painful memories of South Africa in the upcoming World Cup.
Sebastian Giovinco – Juventus
A perpetual under-performer with the national side, patience with the diminutive forward has been running thin at Coverciano for some time now.
Giovinco was part of the Italy team that took third place at the Confederations Cup this past summer but was used little. And despite netting a late winner in a 4-3 thriller against Japan in the group stage, he has not been called up by Prandelli since.
He has clocked only 113 minutes in Serie A for Juventus this season and only got on the scoresheet for the first time last Sunday against Milan. He has found playing time hard to come by with Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente having joined the Bianconeri strike in the summer.
Time is quickly running out for the 26-year-old to prove he deserves to be past of La Nazionale, and it appears his only chance of making the World Cup squad will be to take full advantage of his limited opportunities in Turin going forward.
The Under-21 Graduates: Lorenzo Insigne – Napoli, Marco Verratti – PSG, Alessandro Florenzi – Roma
As previously discussed, talented young trio Lorenzo Insigne, Marco Verratti, and Alessandro Florenzi are certainly keen on taking their careers to the next level with the Azzurri in Brazil come July 2014.
The under-21 standouts have all featured for the senior squad and were simultaneously called up to the most recent iteration of the Italy set-up, having had fruitful starts to their respective seasons with their clubs.
Florenzi has hit four goals for Roma as he has been converted to a winger by Rudi Garcia, Insigne struck a spectacular winner for Napoli to sink Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League to complement 11 chances created in domestic play, and Verratti leads Ligue 1 in completed passes with 510.
The triumvirate quite clearly has the confidence of Prandelli, who has shown he is receptive to integrating youth into Italy’s ranks, but will be expected to display further maturation and growth to realise their dreams of representing their country in the world’s most heralded international competition.
