Juventus bound Fabio Cannavaro equalled Paolo Maldini’s all-time appearance record for Italy when he won his 126th cap in the Confederations Cup 3-0 defeat against Brazil on Sunday. The 35-year-old former Parma defender, the captain of Italy, made his international debut in 1997 and won his 100th cap in the 2006 World Cup final against France.
It wasn’t the most happiest or memorable games for Cannavaro – who grew up in the Napoli youth team in the same era as Diego Maradonna. Strikes from Luis Fabiano after 37 and 43 minutes and an own goal from Andrea Dossena just before the interval left the holders top of Group B and set up a semi-final against hosts South Africa in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Italy have had a disastrous Confederations cup campaign – losing to Egypt earlier in the week, however remain positive ahead of their remaining World Cup qualifying games. Italy are still unbeaten at the top of Group 8 and will be confident that they can claim top spot on their way to defending their title in South Africa in 12 months time.
