Italy v Romania

UEFA EURO 2008 GROUP C
Date: Fri 13 June Kick-off: 1700 BST Venue: Letzigrund Stadion, Zurich


Juventus forward Del Piero was top scorer in Serie A last season
Italy boss Roberto Donadoni will shake up his team up by making at least three changes from the side which suffered an opening 3-0 loss to the Netherlands.

Striker Alessandro Del Piero and defender Giorgio Chiellini will start, meaning Antonio Di Natale and Marco Materazzi are likely to be dropped.

Daniele de Rossi and left-back Fabio Grosso are also pushing for a place.

Romania striker Ciprian Marica has a head injury but could replace Daniel Niculae up front if he is passed fit.

Italy will be eliminated if they lose to Romania following the Dutch defeat and, though they have never lost twice in one European Championship, Donadoni said the time was right to take a gamble.

"I think it's fairly logical to make some changes," he said. "We have other alternatives.

"A little fear isn't a bad thing. It's healthy.

"The psychological aspect is important - we've got to remain clear-headed. We can't go out there thinking that if we don't score in the second, third or fourth minute it's all over.

"We've got to control the game properly."

Del Piero, who will play as a second striker off target man Luca Toni, returns to the side as captain.

"I always feel responsible, even when I don't play," he said. "There will be even more pressure [on Friday], when I'll have the armband.

"But none of this scares me."


BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads

Italy and Romania have met each other on 14 previous occasions with Italy winning 10 times and Romania twice. They have played each other seven times in competitive matches with five wins for Italy and one for Romania.

In the quarter-finals of Euro 2000, Italy won 2-0 with goals from Francesco Totti and Filippo Inzaghi. Gheorghe Hagi was sent off in his 125th and final international.

Romania's last win over Italy is now nearly 20 years ago, a 1-0 friendly win in March 1989. Current Italy head coach Roberto Donadoni played in that defeat.

Head to head records and significant meetings
Team facts - Italy

Knocked out in the group phase in two of the last three European Championships.

Not lost two matches in a row since 2002, when a 1-0 home defeat by Slovenia followed their 2-1 defeat by South Korea at the World Cup. The World Cup match was lost in extra time and the last time Italy lost two in a row in 90 minutes is in 1994 when France and Germany both beat them in friendlies.

Italy's starting line-up against the Netherlands was the oldest ever at a European Championship, averaging 31 years and 52 days.

Team facts - Romania

Not conceded a goal in their last three international matches.

Won only one of their 11 European Championship matches. They beat England 3-2 at Euro 2000, ending a run of eight winless matches at European Championships.

Scored the fewest goals per match amongst teams with at least 10 European Championship matches. Italy have the third worst ratio.

Goals per match scored at European Championships


Won only once in 11 matches against reigning World Champions. That was a 1-0 European Championship qualification win against 1982 World Cup winners Italy in April 1983.

Player facts - Italy

Antonio Cassano needs to score just once to become Italy's all-time top scorer at European Championships with three.

Marco Materazzi will face his club mate Cristian Chivu in this match. Both play for Internazionale.

Materazzi is the only member of the Italian squad to have won this season's Serie A title.

Another yellow card for Gianluca Zambrotta will make him the first player ever to receive six yellow cards at the European Championship.

Luca Toni, Gianluca Zambrotta and Gennaro Gattuso will be suspended for the match against France if they receive a yellow card against Romania.

Player facts - Romania

If selected, defender Razvan Rat will play his 50th international having made his debut against France in February 2002.

No Romanian player in the country's European Championship history has scored more than one goal. Chivu is the only one in the current squad with a goal to his name having scored at Euro 2000.

Adrian Mutu plays his club football with Fiorentina as does his Italian opponent Alessandro Gamberini.

Goalkeeper Eduard Stancioiu is the only player in the Romanian squad from the domestic title winners CFR Ecomax Cluj.

Daniel Niculae, Dorin Goian and Cosmin Contra will be suspended for the match against Netherlands if they receive a yellow card against Italy.