Italy coach Marcello Lippi has adopted a pragmatic approach in the face of his team's elimination from the Confederations Cup first round. The world champions are out of the competition after succumbing to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brazil, a result that came less than three days after losing 1-0 to Egypt. The defeat meant that USA, who beat Egypt 3-0, qualified for the semis alongside Brazil after scoring more goals than Italy. "Unfortunately we're out and we are very sorry. We will now go on holiday and buck up our ideas," Lippi said after the Brazil loss. The former Juventus coach was heavily criticised by Italian media for not fielding the young faces he called up for the competition. "The media have to be calm pushing the youngsters forward because it takes experience to win games like these," he bemoaned. "You cannot throw seven or eight young players in at once, you need to integrate them, to change the team slowly." Lippi earlier stated that the Confederations Cup is no more than a preparation for his team's 2010 World Cup qualifications campaign. "If I do have any regrets it is that this was not the correct image of this team for the world to see."
