Intro:

Italy's hopes of reach the Euro 2012 knock-out stage are hanging on a win over the Republic of Ireland in their last Group C match .

That might not be enough, as the fate of the 2006 World Cup champions rests equally on the outcome of the other final group match between Spain and Croatia.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (Italian) Italy coach Cesare Prandelli: "I really have a hard time listening to these debates, I really do. That's not the way I see things, we are talking about the champions of both World Cup and Euro, a team which over the last ten years entertained the whole world with their game, and with their contagious enthusiasm. Everybody wants to copy this team, and I should be there thinking they want to serve us the biscuit? We have a problem here, we really do if we think they want to cheat."
SOUNDBITE (Italian) Italy coach Cesare Prandelli: "I yelled from 15 minutes, and still I could not find a way to move him (Mario Balotelli) in the right position. Antonio (Cassano) was placed well, in the higher midfield, where they could find him all the time. The thing is that when we are in troubles either you hold the ball, or you give me some depth for our game. If we care about this boy (Mario Balotelli), then we have to tell him these things, otherwise he will never mature."
SOUNDBITE (Italian) Italy coach Cesare Prandelli: "When we play soccer we are definitely a good team, I said that to my boys, because the numbers say that: when we try to lead the game we come out as a real team, when we end up just defending a result, that's when we become a tram full of fears. In the last 10 minutes of the match we had three chances with five players attacking, and this means that we're physically fit."