It took Italy three months to post its first victory since winning the World Cup.
Another win at Georgia on Wednesday in a European Championship qualifier will go long way to prove that the team is over its post-World Cup slump for good.
``Not winning was weighing on us, so the Ukraine win was very important,'' Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro said. ``But if we don't win in Georgia, everything we've rebuilt will be useless.''
Italy beat Ukraine 2-0 on Saturday and will be favoured against Georgia, whose best-known player is AC Milan defender Kakha Kaladze.
Recent Euro 2008 qualifiers have shown that no teams should be taken lightly, though. England was held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Macedonia on Saturday and France lost 1-0 in Scotland.
``Our players are looking forward to challenge the Italians,'' Georgian soccer federation official Paata Burchuladze said. ``It's such a rare chance to play a team which has recently won the world championship.''
A sellout crowd of 60,000 is expected at Georgia's Boris Paichadze stadium.
Italy has four points in Group B, which Scotland leads with nine points. Georgia has three from its 6-0 win over the Faeroe Islands.
Italy has problems in midfield with Gennaro Gattuso suspended for two yellow cards, Andrea Pirlo battling a cold and Daniele De Rossi recovering from a bruised ankle.
Simone Perrotta, back from suspension, seems certain to start in midfield. So should Mauro Camoranesi, who came on in the second half against Ukraine.
The offence will revolve around six-foot-five forward Luca Toni again.
Toni earned a penalty kick that Massimo Oddo converted, and he scored Italy's second goal against Ukraine.
Georgia lost to Germany 2-0 in a friendly on Saturday.
``Georgia plays similarly to Ukraine,'' Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. ``They're going to come at us right away and we're going to have to be attentive to react and develop our play.''
Georgia has two key midfielders suspended: Levan Kobiashvili and Gogita Gogua. Shota Arveladze, a striker for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, is injured and will also miss the game in Tbilisi.
Also in question is midfielder David Mudzhiri, who has a knee injury.
``Four key players are to miss the match. It's a serious problem for us,'' Burchuladze said.
Still, Italy should expect a well-organized opponent with German coach Klaus Toppmoeller finishing his first year in charge of Georgia.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
