Italy manager Marcello Lippi insisted that the team's intense preparation before the World Cup was the reason behind their opening victory against Ghana on Monday. "We did our homework, and Ghana played just as we expected," said Lippi. "They have a lot of strengths - they're physically powerful, skilful and quick on the break, but we knew we could exploit some of their weaker points. So it proved, and we came away with the victory," he added. Italy beat Ghana 2-0 in their Group E match that took place in Hanover, with Andrea Pirlo opening the score for the Italians just before the interval and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta securing their victory mid-way through the second half. "It was an entertaining game, we got a good result and played well. I'm particularly happy for the squad, who haven't had things easy recently," the Italian coach said. On the other hand, Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic hailed his team's overall performance in the match, but blamed a couple of defensive mistakes for their defeat. "I'm happy with the way my players performed, they played well," the Yugoslavian coach said. "I still think that had the marking on (Andrea) Pirlo been tighter when he scored the first goal, the match could have gone very differently. The second goal was just a simple defensive error," he added. Despite the loss, the former Rwanda boss is confident about the squad's next Group E challenge against the Czech Republic. "Anything is possible in football, and I don't see the Czech Republic as invincible by any means," Dujkovic said. "We're not afraid of the Czech Republic," he insisted.
