Nothing but the best for Prandelli

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli expects his team to be at their best when they face Serbia in their Euro 2012 Group C qualifier on Friday.

Prandelli’s men sealed their place for the European championships back in September with a 1-0 win over Slovenia, but Serbia still have everything to play for.

In their last meeting, crowd trouble in Genoa forced the game to be abandoned, leading UEFA to hand Italy the win.

But the coach is hoping that his side take care of business in Belgrade on Friday before hosting Northern Ireland four days later.

“We have two official games remaining and I want the team to play at their best,” Prandelli said.

“I expect to see progress in terms of our mentality. These two games offer a chance to see whether we have improved since the last match.”

“The game against Serbia serves us well as we want to have a good match, the result is secondary.”

“They (Serbia) cannot afford to lose, as they have to win. We will see if we are able to cope with them.”

Speaking on domestic matters, Prandelli praised Juventus who beat AC Milan 2-0 in Serie A on Sunday night.

“Juventus played the whole game with an incredible rhythm,” he said. “They were ordered and precise and put Milan into difficulty.”

Italy are currently eight points above Serbia in their group with 22 points from eight games.