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Lippi claims stars relish pressure
20/06/2006: Italy coach Marcello Lippi claims his players will improve with the more pressure which is heaped upon them during the World Cup.
The Azzurri came under fire from the media in their homeland after Saturday's surprise 1-1 draw against nine-man USA in Kaiserslautern which means they need to defeat Czech Republic in the final Group E clash on Thursday to ensure they go through to the second round as group winners.
However Lippi is not concerned about the game and feels his players enjoy being put under the cosh from outside sources in order to succeed.
He said: "We are made for knockout games. Our mentality is that we give our best when it is a one-off.
"All the praise that the team received for their performance against Ghana [won 2-0] might have caused some kind of easing off from the players."
Meanwhile midfielder Francesco Totti has urged his team-mates to show their worth by defeating the Czechs in Hamburg.
The As Roma captain said: "We must win against Czech Republic, there are no excuses. I'm not interested in other comments, we are able to beat everyone.
"If I'm not wrong, after the match with Ghana it was said we were the most in-form side at the tournament.
"So I don't see why now, even as we are top of our group and have the best goal difference, we are being talked about as being eliminated."
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