Balotelli Scores On Italy Debut

Pierluigi Casiraghi's men needed a victory to ensure early qualification to the European Championships, but were unable to achieve it. It was an exciting match nonetheless as the Azzurini met a determined Greece side.

Italy started the brighter and Balotelli's close range effort narrowly missed the goal, while Greece nearly scored on the counter attack soon after.

It was debutant Balotelli who broke the deadlock, Fiorentina's Daniel Pablo Osvaldo's cross fell to 'Super Mario' and he finished off the chance on the volley to give Italy a deserved 1-0 lead.

Juventus' Sebastian Giovinco was very active and he drilled a shot just wide from the top of the box as Italy continued to press in order to finish off the game.

However, the second half was another story as the Greeks were not to be outdone, Christodoulopoulos took advantage of the space he was left by the Italian defence and unleashed a rocket into the net from 20 metres.

As the match wore on, the Italians seemed to tire, perhaps as a result of playing in the Olympics in Beijing just a few weeks ago. They certainly put in plenty of effort, though, as Balotelli's overhead kick flew just over the bar and Claudio Marchisio had his penalty claim waved off in injury time.

Casiraghi will take both positives and negatives away from the match, as the defence looked suspect on many occasions, but Balotelli and company upfront were a constant threat.

The draw leaves the Italians on top of the group with 23 points, while Croatia are just two points behind them on 21.

Italy 1-1 Greece

1-0: Balotelli 33’

1-1: Christodoulopoulos 55’

Referee: De Sousa (Por)

Italy: Consigli; Motta, Andreolli, Bocchetti, Criscito; Dessena, Cigarini (Morosini 69), Marchisio (De Ceglie 92); Giovinco, Osvaldo (Lanzafame 77); Balotelli

Greece: Kasmeridis; Maniatis, Siontis, Tripotseris, Ioannidis; Balafas, Dimoutsos (Papadopoulos 75), Rika; Marinos, Petropoulos (Mitroglu 64), Christodoulopoulos (Pavlis 82)