Line leader: Cassano

Cassano, who started in Sunday's 1-1 draw to Spain in their Group C opener, is expected to lead Italy's attack against Croatia on Thursday.

Prandelli could opt to bench Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli in favour of Udinese's Antonio Di Natale.

Balotelli endured a frustrating afternoon against Spain before being substituted in the second half.

'It's not important who plays,' Cassano said. 'The only thing that matters is to beat Croatia in order to qualify for the next round. For us the game against Croatia is very important.'

The former Roma star was not surprised by his team's solid display against Spain after the Azzurri's under-par performance in a 3-0 loss to Russia in a warm-up game earlier this month.

'Before the friendly against Russia we were considered among the favourites,' Cassano said. 'Then after that loss everyone criticised us. We played well against Spain and we want to go as far as possible in this tournament because we have the quality to do so.'

Cassano praised Di Natale, who came off the bench to score against Spain.

'I am happy for Toto (Di Natale),' he said. 'I am fond of him. He is like that, you give him half a chance and he scores.'

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