Donadoni disappoints again

Roberto Donadoni may be on his way to a very short stint as coach of the Italian national team. After Saturday's surprising 1-1 draw with much lower-ranked Lithuania, Donadoni is looking down the barrel at Wednesday's World Cup final rematch on the road against France. To his credit, Italy was not only expected to win the match but should have won the match. There were many excellent crosses sent into Lithuania's box, but none of them could be converted. One particular misfortune for Italy was a Pirlo corner headed perfectly inside the post, but just barely cleared by a leaping Lithuanian defender who was stationed there.

For the Laziali, Massimo Oddo started the game and played the full 90 minutes. He was involved in lots of forward-moving plays and crossed the ball a couple of times. It's good to see that Donadoni recognizes his potential as an NT starter. He will be a Lazio starter until at least January, which is the even better news for the biancocelesti.

The same group of players are called up for the France match, and a similar starting lineup is likely.