Italy crashed out of the World Cup with a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, but who takes the blame and which players kept their pride?
Gianluigi Buffon: 7
Italy crashed out of the World Cup with a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay, but who takes the blame and which players kept their pride?
Gianluigi Buffon: 7
The Italy goalkeeper marshalled his defence as strongly as ever, with his country seemingly heading into the last 16, until he was cruelly exploited by Diego Godin’s fatal header.
Giorgio Chiellini: 6
Looked more comfortable in a central role, as he teamed up with his Juventus” data-scaytid=”7″>Juventus colleagues in the heart of the Azzurri backline. However, he was always prone to lapses in concentration and saw appeals for a Luis Suarez bite turned down.
Leonardo Bonucci: 7
It may have been the former Bari man’s 2014 World Cup debut, but he did not look out of place and appeared like a seasoned veteran at times. However, like with the rest of his defensive team-mates, the organisation for Godin’s winner left much to be desired.
Andrea Barzagli: 7
The Juventus centre-back settled into his usual rhythm after a cagey start and confidently played the ball from the back. Always assured in possession and did not look like being infiltrated.
Mattia De Sciglio: 6
He may have been unforgiving at left-back, having added some solidity following Chiellini’s ill-fated spell in the position, but the free kick came from his area of the pitch, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Claudio Marchisio: 4
No goal could paper over the cracks this time around, as he was sent off following a moment of madness after pushing his studs into Egidio Arevalo Rios’ shin.
Andrea Pirlo: 7
Despite not finding as much space as he would have liked and not being on the same wavelength as his team-mates often enough, the playmaker pulled the strings in the middle of park and used his vision to great effect on occasions.
Marco Verratti: 6
Tried his best to keep things ticking both on and off the ball, as he looked for one-twos and released the ball quickly, but his temperament held him back from making a major impact. Fortunate to have avoided a booking and was eventually stretchered off.
Matteo Darmian: 6
Like his fellow stoppers, he marked Pereira out of the game. However, the plaudits arguably got to the full-back’s head, as he failed to penetrate his opposing flank, and consequently there was a lack of service from his side.
Ciro Immobile: 5
In his opportunity to truly star on the global stage, the centre forward struggled to link up with Balotelli and still could not deliver when deployed further forward. His movement was well thwarted by Uruguay’s defensive prowess.
Mario Balotelli: 5
Started the match in his typically-languid style, but a yellow card for a foolish high foot meant that he would have missed the next match anyway. Nonetheless, his shooting was below par and was replaced at half-time.
Substitutes
Marco Parolo: 5
The Parma man did plenty of running about, as he roamed around the pitch at free will, but the end product was sorely lacking and never looked like supplying the creativity in advanced areas.
Antonio Cassano: 6
Looked isolated in his role of lone striker but did his best to involve himself at the death by constantly dropping deep and try his best to link up with his team’s static midfield.
Thiago Motta: N\A
Came on as a stop-gap following Verratti’s injury.
Coach: Cesare Prandelli: 4
The Coach’s plan to stifle the Uruguayans by adopting a patient, possession-based style was working until late drama threw all of his tactics out of the window. Injuries and red cards may not have been to his favour, but his conservative substitutions meant Italy never had a Plan B once they were on the backfoot.
Words: Livio Caferoglu