Martino glad to play Italy first

Starting your World Cup campaign against the reigning champions may not be the easiest assignment, but Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino admits he would rather face Italy first up than in their final group match.

Paraguay begin their quest to reach the last 16 of the World Cup for the third time in four tournaments with a clash against holders Italy in Cape Town on June 14 before then facing Slovakia and New Zealand in their final two Group F matches.

It is a tough curtain-raiser for the 'Albirroja', but it at least gives Paraguay a chance to battle back in their other games if things do not go to plan against the Italians.

"If you had to seal your qualification to the last 16 in the final match, it's always better not to have to do it against Italy," said Martino.

"Aside from that, I don't know if it's going to be beneficial or not, but I think that it's going to be a very close group, so it seems to me that not having Italy at the end will turn out to be a positive."

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source: football365.com