Italy favoured to advance

Both Italian coach Cesare Maldini and his Russian opposite number Boris Ignatiev yesterday continued to play their cards close to their chests on the eve of tonight's all-decisive Italy versus Russia World Cup play-off in Naples.

While Maldini has been talking in indecipherable riddles, Ignatiev had been identifying anti-Russian plots in just about everything from the designation of the match referee to recent remarks by former Brazilian ace Pele. Such tension is all too understandable since both men know only too well that their heads are on the block. This is do or die time.

Italy go into the game as slight favourites, following a useful 1-1 draw in Moscow two weeks ago. Cesare Maldini has spent most of the week suggesting that, in the end, such a result is "not ideal" since it might lead to a dangerous temptation to play for the 0-0 draw which would see Italy through. "You shut the game down, only to concede a late goal and then you are out of the World Cup," he argues.

Given that observation, much attention this week has focused on Maldini's selections in attack. With Christian Vieri out through injury, Maldini has four strikers to chose from - big men, Pierluigi Casiraghi and Fabrizio Ravanelli, and the more diminutive Alessandro Del Piero and Gianfranco Zola. Most commentators believe that Casiraghi and Zola will get the nod, arguing that in a game like this Zola's skills are indispensable.

Furthermore, until being dropped in Moscow, the Chelsea player had been ever present in Maldini's team. Asked about Zola, however, Maldini answered in a riddle, saying: "The fact that, apart from the game in Moscow, Zola has always played for me means everything and nothing . . . I already have my own ideas (re the team selection) but I prefer to keep them to myself."

However, it is expected that Zola will play, flanked by Casiraghi and with Del Piero on standby for the second half. If Maldini has been speaking in riddles, Ignatiev has been talking conspiracies, concentrating more on the three reserve players who failed to turn up - Oleg Veretennikov, Valeri Esipov and Yegor Titov - rather than on those likely to play tonight. Their absence, he says, is proof that someone back home does not want Russia to qualify.

Which is a point of view shared by Pele, who dropped into Rome this week to tell delighted Italians that a World Cup without Italy would not be "a real World Cup". Such remarks, said Ignatiev, are proof that today's soccer is no longer "pure" but rather controlled by "commercial interests".

For all his complaints, Ignatiev is likely to field a very strong side, strengthened by the return of libero Youri Nikiforov in defence alongside stopper Viktor Onopko. Reggiana striker Igor Simutenkov is likely to replace the injured Andrei Kanchelskis in midfield with the attack again led by Sergei Yuran and Igor Kolivanov.

Italy (Probable): Peruzzi, Costacurta, Pessotto, Ferrara, Cannavaro, Maldini; Di Matteo, Dino Baggio, Albertini; Casiraghi, Zola.

Russia (Probable): Ovcinnikov, Nikiforov, Kovtun, Onopko, Popov ; Simutenkov, Radimov, Alenichev, Yanovski ; Kolivanov, Yuran.

Referee: S Mumenthaler (Switzerland).

Other Play-Offs

Ukraine (0) v Croatia (2), Kiev, 6.0.

Yugoslavia (7) v Hungary (1), Belgrade, 4.0.