Italy's Nesta could sit out vs. Germany

Via AZcentral Associated Press Jul. 2, 2006 12:00 AM

Italy defender Alessandro Nesta is still recovering from a right thigh injury and remains in doubt for Italy's semifinal with Germany.

Nesta will undergo a new round of medical exams today. Italy faces the World Cup hosts Tuesday in Dortmund, Germany.

Nesta has missed Italy's past two games, a second-round win over Australia and Friday's 3-0 quarterfinals rout of Ukraine. Inexperienced Andrea Barzagli replaced Nesta against Ukraine and performed well, although he was never really tested. Marco Materazzi returns from a one-game suspension and could step in vs. Germany, as he did vs. Australia.

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Teddy's Opinion: Nesta is a irreplaceable defender in the team. However, Andrea Barzagli is better than Marco Materazzi as a replacement. It is because Marco Materazzi always violates the rule and get cards.