Italy await Lippi's forward thinking

Myriad options
Since being appointed as Italy coach, Lippi has tried 17 forwards: Fabio Bazzani, Andrea Caracciolo, Antonio Cassano, Bernardo Corradi, Alessandro Del Piero, David Di Michele, Marco Di Vaio, Mauro Esposito, Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Langella, Cristiano Lucarelli, Fabrizio Miccoli, Vincenzo Montella, Luca Toni, Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri.

Certain places
However, only Toni, Gilardino and Totti look certainties for the squad in June. ACF Fiorentina striker Toni has not found the net for over a month after scoring 16 goals in his first 13 Serie A games, but has still been playing well. The same can be said of Gilardino who has continued to score regularly since his summer move from Parma FC to AC Milan.

'More mature'
The 23-year-old has already struck 12 goals for the Rossoneri - none of them penalties - and is on target to better the 23 goals he scored in each of his last two seasons at Parma. Totti, eager to make amends after being banned for spitting at an opponent at UEFA EURO 2004™, is expected to play just behind Gilardino and Toni in the Azzurri attack. "He is much more mature now, especially since becoming a father," Lippi said.

Matchwinning substitute
The other attacking places are up for grabs. Lippi may be tempted to deploy the Juventus captain and all-time top scorer Del Piero, 31, in the same way as his club coach Fabio Capello, as a match-winning substitute. "I rate him as a great champion who can be very important for our national team," Lippi said.

Heading abroad
Two other strikers have left Italy to try and convince Lippi of their worth; Vieri left Milan for AS Monaco FC with an eye on playing in his third World Cup, while Cassano hopes to hit the heights at Real Madrid CF following his move from AS Roma. Both players have previously impressed at major tournaments, Cassano most recently at UEFA EURO 2004™.

European showcase
"I only left Milan because I wanted to play more games," Vieri said at his unveiling as a Monaco player this week. "My goal is to go to the World Cup and in order to do so I need to be playing regularly." Cassano added: "I'm sure that I will not have any problem making the squad for the World Cup if I play well with Madrid."

Lucarelli hope
Injuries and poor form have ruled a number of candidates out of the running, although Udinese Calcio striker Iaquinta has a good chance of travelling to Germany after being a constant presence in Lippi's squad in 2005, while AS Livorno Calcio hit-man Lucarelli continues to score regularly after finishing last season as Serie A's top scorer. "I'm watching his performances with a lot of interest," Lippi said. "He has another five months to convince me."

Sleepless nights
Milan forward Filippo Inzaghi will be spending those five months trying to prove that he is back to being the striker he was before a series of bad injuries. The race for playing in the World Cup has only just begun, and Lippi can certainly bank on more than one sleepless night in the run up to the kick-off against Ghana.