Italy may have fought hard to avoid defeat in Glasgow on Saturday but despite their performance the press was still unimpressed by the selection policy of Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi.

Alberto Gilardino, who joined Milan from Parma in a £17m deal this summer, was expected to start the match only to end up in the stands for the 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw.

"I only found out I would be watching the game at around midday," he was reported as saying.

"I was given no explanation, but that's part of football. The coach's decision is final."

Lippi had assured that it was a mutual choice, claiming that the player was not quite as sharp as he should have been and agreed it was best to sit this one out so that he could return to face Belarus on Wednesday.

He instead chose Udinese forward Vincenzo Iaquinta to complete the trident attack with Christian Vieri and Francesco Totti, changing two thirds of the starting strike force he used in the 2-1 friendly victory over Ireland.

One player who did remain from that Dublin test was Cristian Zaccardo, whose costly error allowed Kenny Miller to open the scoring. The Palermo full-back had also given away a goal in Ireland last month.

With Norway's 3-2 victory in Slovenia, Italy's lead at the top of Group Five has been cut to just two points, making Wednesday's journey to Belarus a potentially perilous one. Gianluca Zambrotta and Daniele De Rossi will be suspended.