Italy fail to find their feet in draw against Switzerland

Switzerland's Christoph Spycher (L) vies with Italy's Luca Toni in Geneva, during a friendly football game in preparation for the 2006 World Cup which will be held in Germany. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Italy looked uninspired during a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in a largely experimental World Cup warm-up where both sides substituted six players during the second half.

Alessandro del Piero looked jaded, while Francesco Totti appeared subdued on his comeback to the national side following a broken ankle in February.

Playing upfront, Totti appeared to gingerly avoid contact especially after a crunching tackle from the home side's Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos.

But the Roma striker gained in confidence in the second half by dropping back to midfield, offering a revitalised frontline at least two clear scoring chances that were saved by Switzerland's replacement goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti.

Alberto Gilardino put Italy in the lead in the 10th minute with their only clear attempt on goal in the first half.

Palermo's Fabio Grosso darted through from the back into a glaring gap on the left wing after the kind of lapse in concentration that Swiss coach Jakob Kuhn has been trying to purge from his young side.

Grosso slotted through an inch perfect low cross which the AC Milan centre forward easily tipped past Zuberbuehler from close range.

But Italy rarely looked menacing otherwise and the Swiss kept most of the possession, taunting the Italians but rarely making an impression on the five strong defensive line-up.

The Swiss breakthough came in the 31st minute when Ricardo Cabanas found Daniel Gygax clear on the edge of the penalty area.

The Lille midfielder had time to unleash a drive into the top corner of Gianluigi Buffon's net.

Fortunes swapped sides in the second half after an unsettling series of substitutions that broke the flow of play.

Arsenal's young hope Johan Djourou showed a commanding presence in the Swiss back four alongside Senderos for only his second international.

Italy kick off their campaign in Group E on June 12 against Ghana, followed by matches against the USA and the Czech Republic.

Switzerland play France on June 13, and also face Togo and South Korea in Group G.