Italy will hope for a bright start in their Confederations Cup opener when they take on Mexico Sunday.
The Italians are one of the favorites for the tournament, which is a curtain raiser to the 2014 World Cup, but will have to do a lot better than they did against minnows Haiti in their final friendly before the start of the Confederations Cup.
The Azzurri were seemingly on their way to a comfortable 2-0 win over Haiti, before two late goals gave the 63rd ranked Caribbean side a stunning 2-2 draw.
The result is not something manager Cesare Prandelli will want to dwell on too much ahead of their opener against Mexico, who themselves have been struggling for results off late.
"It is certainly a bad result, and an embarrassing one, because a draw with Haiti is an embarrassment," he told Rai Sport after the loss last week.
"We made many changes. We should've been different in terms of spirit.
"We have to take many aspects into consideration, most importantly we need to find our physical sharpness. We've worked towards this and you could see we lost every single sprint, so we hope (against Mexico) we can begin to deliver."
Italy are in Group A alongside hosts Brazil, Japan and their Sunday opponents Mexico. Former Italian great Alessandro Del Piero, who now plies his trade in Australia with Sydney FC, believes Italy should not be complacent against any side if they are to win the tournament.
"It's happened in the past. I think there is always a small dip in form during this time of the year," Del Piero told Sky Sport Italia. "There is every chance that the other teams will take this Confederations Cup seriously.
"Let's not forget that Italy were runner-ups in Euro 2012. They are a team of hopefuls who must take every opportunity to grow and improve.
"When you play certain games at certain stages, determination and concentration come to the fore."
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