Prandelli praises inspirational Cassano

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli believes Antonio Cassano can help lead Italy's recovery from its World Cup disaster.

The Sampdoria striker was the inspiration as Italy came back to win 2-1 against Estonia on Friday. He scored the equalizer and then set up Leonardo Bonucci for the winner.

EURO QUALIFYING - GROUP C

Fri., Jun. 3

Faroe Islands 0-2 Slovenia
Italy 3-0 Estonia | Recap

Tue., Jun. 7

Faroe Islands 2-0 Estonia | Recap

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Scores | Tables | Fixtures

Before Prandelli's appointment, Cassano had been frozen out of the squad for two years by previous coach Marcello Lippi.

"Cassano feels part of the squad now and that could make a big difference for us," Prandelli said on Saturday. "I've found a more mature Cassano. His marriage has calmed him down, but he's developed as a player. You can see it as he's the first to arrive in the changing room and that he talks about tactical situations, something he didn't do in the past when we were together at AS Roma."

Italy returned to its Coverciano training base in Tuscany ahead of the match with the Faroe Islands on Tuesday.

The win in Tallinn was Italy's first in 2010 and snaps a run of seven games without a victory.

"This team can give much, much more," Prandelli said. "I've always said that we need to be patient. It is like when someone builds a skyscraper. If you ignore the foundations you immediately find yourself in trouble.

"Italian football is much better than we are currently giving it credit for. But we are in the first few stages and we have only just began to understand how we need to play."

The former Fiorentina coach continues to have problems with his goalkeepers as he awaits Gianluigi Buffon's return to fitness.

Federico Marchetti replaced the Juventus 'keeper during the World Cup, but in his first competitive match in charge Prandelli chose Palermo's Salvatore Sirigu.

Sirigu was responsible for Sergei Zenjov's opener after he spilled the ball into his path.

"I will only chose the goalkeeper after speaking to both players," Prandelli said.