Italy will try hard for the top place of Group D to avoid a clash with Brazil in quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament.
"I hope we'll be first in the group and avoid a clash with Brazil (in the quarterfinals)," Italy head coach Pierluigi Casiraghi said. "I think they also want to avoid Italy in the quarterfinals."
Italy, having booked a berth in the knockout stage after taking six points from two 3-0 wins over Honduras and South Korea, still needs one point in Wednesday's match against Cameroon to ensure them the top place in this group.
Cameroon, which grabbed an important win over Honduras on Sunday after being held 1-1 by South Korea in its opener, needs a win or draw to qualify the quarterfinals. If they win, they will top the group, ahead of Italy.
The Italian attacking trio, Sebastian Giovinco, Giuseppe Rossi and Robert Acquafresca proved their values in the first matches, showing their team is undoubtedly the Olympic title favorites.
However, Casiraghi said: "The favourites are other teams, not mine. We are going to play the matches one by one, without thinking being favorites."
European countries have long missed the Olympic gold since Spanish won their title on their own soil 16 years ago. This Italian team, however, shoulders the reputation for the football-crazy continent.
Italy hopes to improve on their third place finish in the 2004 Olympics in which they won the bronze medal game with a 1-0 win over Iraq.
"Italy is a very strong team and we have to get fully prepared," Cameroon midfielder Alain Olle said.
Looking ahead to Wednesday's match, Cameroon head coach Martin Ndtoungou said: "In the beginning every team has a 50 per cent chance to win. During the process things change. Opportunity will always be there. If we must get one point, we will."
(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2008)