(AGI) - Duisburg, 9 June - "On behalf of the whole team, I want to thank you for the great welcome you gave us. We know there are many Italians here in Germany, thank you all and let's go Italy" Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro told the supporters that came to the MSV arena stadium in Duisburg, where Italy played against a local youth team. A huge roar arose when the speakers read out the names of Del Piero, Inzaghi and Totti. Italian flags were all over the place. Fortunately, it was a pleasant evening, with a mild temperature. The positive contact with the fans, which the Federation wanted so much, did happen.

 Italy beat MSV Duisburg's under-19 team 5-1 Friday in its final World Cup warmup.

Andrea Pirlo opened the scoring with a free kick after three minutes and Cristian Zaccardo and Alberto Gilardino also scored before halftime. Vincenzo Iaquinta scored twice in the second half.

Coach Marcello Lippi revealed little about his intended lineup for the tournament, fielding two almost entirely different squads in each half.

Alessandro Del Piero once again played below top form in the first half, while Francesco Totti showed some improvement in his recovery from left-leg surgery in the second.

Italy (first half): Gianluigi Buffon; Cristian Zaccardo, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Barzagli, Fabio Grosso, Mauro Camoranesi, Simone Barone, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Del Piero, Alberto Gilardino, Filippo Inzaghi.

Italy (second half): Marco Amelia; Massimo Oddo, Andrea Barzagli, Marco Materazzi, Fabio Grosso, Simone Barone, Daniele De Rossi, Simone Perrotta, Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Luca Toni.

Lippi will likely decide at the last minute whether to start Del Piero or Totti against Ghana.

The game had an energetic atmosphere as most of the 20,000 fans arrived early to watch Germany's opening match against Costa Rica on the stadium's TV screens.

Captain Fabio Cannavaro read a statement aloud on the stadium's public address system before the game to welcome the crowd, which was filled with Italian immigrants.

In morning training, Gianluca Zambrotta resumed running for the first time since injuring his left leg in a training match 12 days ago. Fellow defender Alessandro Nesta, who has a right leg problem, also started running again.

A third injured starter, midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, worked in a gym to build up strength in his injured right leg.

Italy will play Ghana, 4.30 EST Australia Tuesday morning June 13, following Australia vs Japan EST Monday night, June 12 at 11pm EST