The nerves of Italy ...

The nerves of Italy are waiting for the end of this match already.

Fans of the Italian national side know their propensity for poor play at the start of tournaments and they were looking anxiously at the performance of the Cameroon side against Austria.

What they saw did not settle their nerves. Cameroon were within seconds of victory and their hard running style had exposed the ageing Austrian side throughout the second half. Whereas before the Cameroon side were thought to be a pale immitation of the team that went to the last eight in 1990, last week they found new confidence in the performances from some of their younger players.

This will be a very tough night for Italy in just the sort of fixture that the national side struggles in at the early stages of a tournament. Cameroon looked fitter at the end of their game against the Austrians and they have powerful runners in the side. Much will depend on the ability of the Italian midfield to protect a defence that can be prone to mistakes when dealing with fast strikers on the run. Cameroon are not a great threat from freekicks and corners but their attacking runs from deep Arellano a threat to the Italian defenders.

Cameroon are fit and eager enough to attack space with the ball at their feet but the Italains will have worked on this and a large part of their game plan will be to deny the African side such space. Baggio retains his place in the side after an exceptional match against Chile but all hopes cannot only rest on him and Italy are in for a nervous night.