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Lippi praises beaten foes
13/06/2006: Italy coach Marcello Lippi praised beaten opponents Ghana following his side's opening 2-0 success in World Cup 2006.
Andrea Pirlo scored a magnificent first goal in the 40th minute to put the Azzurri in control but they were made to work by a resolute Ghana side and only sealed the win when he pounced on a poor backpass from Samuel Kuffour to score with just seven minutes left.
Lippi paid tribute to the efforts of his opponents, who were making their first appearance in the World Cup, although he felt his side did deserve the victory.
"Our opponents showed themselves to be as strong as we thought they would be," said Lippi.
"In certain aspects they were better than us. But I think overall we deserved to win.
"From a psychological point of view the first match is always difficult to win and I thought the lads did really well to close it out."
Italian playmaker Francesco Totti also played down fears that he suffered another injury after he was substituted following a heavy challenge.
The Roma legend said: "I took a hit below the knee. I was lucky. It was a heavy tackle and I felt quite a lot of pain.
"For a moment I was worried but it soon became clear that it wasn't anything too serious.
"But I'm happy with how I played tonight. The more I play, the better my condition gets."
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