Italy may be current World Cup holders after their 2006 victory in Germany but few are expecting them to repeat the feat.
Marcello Lippi's side were criticized by the demanding national press throughout qualifying because they often failed to convince despite topping their group.
After leaving the national side following that World Cup triumph, Lippi returned to the helm and guided the Azzurri through qualifying. The former Juventus tactician has inherited a moderate squad, lacking the inspiration of certain past masters.
But in Gianluigi Buffon he possesses one of the world's best goalkeepers, and with class acts like the no nonsense Giorgio Chiellini, and all-round midfielder Daniele De Rossi forming a solid spine, Italy can call on one of the most experienced squads in the competition.
Lippi made it clear there would be few surprises in his final selections. This is a squad lacking an inspirational figure like Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero or Roberto Baggio. Antonio Cassano is a player in this mould, and he continues to excel for Sampdoria, but Lippi has refused to call him up because of past disciplinary issues.
Quick Facts:
23-man Italy World Cup Squad:
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari)
Defenders: Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa)
Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)
Forwards: Simone Pepe (Udinese); Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria)
Group Matches:
Monday, June 14, 2010 v ParaguaySunday, June 20, 2010 v New Zealand
Thursday, June 24, 2010 v Slovakia
Prediction: Quarter-Finals
Of the top seeds, Italy together with England, have arguably the easiest group, as they face Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia. It looks a given that they will finish top, with a meeting against Cameroon or Denmark in the second round.Their experience may be enough to get them into a quarter-final against Spain, but that is surely as far as they will go. Spain now have the belief that they can beat teams such as Italy, and it was La Furia Roja who knocked the Azzurri out of Euro 2008 on penalties.
The demanding Italian public will expect a good showing from their team, but there is also an acceptance that a genuine challenge is probably out of the question.
To find out more about the tournament, visit the World Cup section.