The last time Italy took to the pitch, they were rushed out of it. Their Euro 2012 qualifying match against Serbia in Genoa last month was abandoned because of crowd violence and the Azzurri were handed a 3-0 victory by UEFA.
The maximum points gained from that fixture propelled the 2006 World Cup winner to pole position in Group C with 10 points from four games, three points ahead of Slovenia, who are second in the group.
The match against Romania in Klagenfurt, though, is not a pointless friendly or just a build-up to the next batch of European qualifiers but for coach Cesare Prandelli to test his squad and chisel it for the future.
Star striker and Prandelli’s original fulcrum of the team, Antonio Cassano, has not been included in the squad because of his troublesome situation with Sampdoria, which means that Mario Balotelli will be handed the chance to make himself a hero on Wednesday evening.
Italy have not been very convincing in their qualifying games even though they have got the results and the friendly against Romania will give Prandelli the chance to try his side once again. The eesult is not so important as the performance as the former Fiorentina tactician continues to take one of the worlds biggest footballing nations into new horizons.
Seeking A Morale-Booster
Romania’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign has gone off to a less than impressive start as they are currently fifth in Group D with just two points from three games. Razvan Lucescu’s side are struggling to keep their European dreams alive and the match against Italy will be a welcome game for them to try to resurrect their fortunes.
However, several of the Romanian internationals play for clubs in Italy and will, therefore, know how to combat the Italian challenge. Romania are not a traditional powerhouse and in recent years have struggled to thread their way into major international competitions, but they do have players who can make life difficult for the better known Italian players.
Italy coach Prandelli knows that Romania will pose a tough challenge and says: "Romania are a team to be feared. They have big and experienced players that play for prestigious clubs.''
Italy
Antonio Cassano was not included in the Italy squad as his problems with Sampdoria continue. Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Ranocchia, Alessandro Diamanti and Christian Ledesma are set to play for Italy for the first time.
Romania
Striker Adrian Mutu was omitted from the squad despite having recently returned to action for Fiorentina after a long suspension; he is injured at the moment anyway and so would have had to miss the encounter with Italy. Defender Stefan Radu is unavailable after suffering an injury for Lazio at the weekend.
Prediction
Prandelli’s Italy have to yet to fully convince and they will not find it easy against Romania. However, the Azzurri do have a superior squad and they should just about eke out a victory.
Italy 2-1 Romania 
