It will be the tale of the two keepers. And who will be more effective in keeping the ball away from the crypt. If that is the case then you would take Buffon over Gregory Coupet in a heartbeat. Coupet’s heedless charge led to the Robben goal and his delayed reaction could have stopped Van Persie. On the hand Buffon against Romania showed why he is the best in the business.
Coupet vs Buffon: Advantage Buffon
The Azzurri come front loaded with Luca Toni accumulating all the frequent flier miles and Fabio Grosso and Zambrotta raining in crosses from wide positions. The Italians will stretch out their attack as they try and soften the shorter Les Bleus with an aerial assault. With a distracted defense, Del Piero could slip in something from a Toni knockback.
Gallas vs Toni: Advantage Toni
The key player in the midfield matchup will be the wily Claude Makelele, whose sharp mind and sharp elbows will be called upon to disrupt the Italian attack. Enabling the speedy midfield led by Malouda and Franck Ribery to push through the flanks and feed Thierry Henry.
This is the one game that Raymond Domenech should throw caution to the winds. Start Karem Benzema just behind Henry. Start Lassana Diarra. Start Patrick Vieira. The French game gets infinitely more creative and attacking. Toulalan is more of an enforcer and if you want to knock a few bodies to the ground, fine. But don’t expect to win matches. Gallas and Vieira should keep the Italians honest through their aerial presence in set pieces.
Makelele vs Pirlo: Advantage Makelele
The feeling is the Italians come to this game with a bit of wind on their backs. They should have won the Romania match and were done in by some poor refereeing decisions. I expect that they will win this match. And should it go to PKs, then the advantage again lies with them.