The crossbar stopped Luca Toni from netting a cracking goal against
Ghana, while Fabio Cannavaro and Gigi Buffon are happy with the
performance.

"I gave it a go, but unfortunately was unable to score. The
important thing was to win and we did it, while it was a very
emotional World Cup debut for me and we all tried to pour our
frustrations into the game," said the Fiorentina striker.


He was fielded in a trident with Francesco Totti and Alberto
Gilardino, who also struck the woodwork in the 2-0 win.


"I think we moved well with Francesco and Alberto, just failing to
score by a couple of inches, so we're still working on this
partnership and will improve. We tried to spread the central
defenders as far as possible so that Totti could break into the
middle."


Toni, who scored 31 goals in Serie A this season, was replaced by
Alessandro Del Piero eight minutes from time.


"I feel pretty good physically and we had to move around a lot off
the ball to create space, so some tiredness was inevitable. It was
very hot, but that caused problems for everyone, including Ghana.
The fact we scored a goal in the final minutes suggests our fitness
levels are good."


Fabio Cannavaro is now an old hand at World Cups and didn't have the
same nerves as his teammates.


"We knew we were facing a tough side with a very strong midfield,
while the first World Cup game is always the most difficult," said
the Juventus defender.


"We allowed them a few too many counter-attacks in the first half,
but I was impressed with the character shown by our players. In the
crucial moment, we struck and took home the points."


Gianluigi Buffon only had to make one real save – on Chelsea star
Michael Essien's screamer – but was ready for the challenge.


"I'm rather used to that with Juventus, but during the World Cup it
won't always be like this, and we came up against a side that gave
us some problems," said the goalkeeper. He broke his Press silence
to comment after the game on the Calciopoli scandals and constant
search for controversy.


"I think in Italy there is too much talk and the entire sport would
benefit from cutting that back a little. Every day they have to
bring something up to enflame the masses."


His former Juventus teammate, Stephen Appiah, insisted the Azzurri
did not earn their three points in this 2-0 victory.


"I don't think it was a deserved victory, as it was a balanced game.
We played well and they used their quality to score two goals. Ok,
so they had more chances, but in terms of play I didn't see the
Azzurri do better than us," said the Fenerbahce midfielder.


"We also should've had a penalty on Asamoah, but the referee didn't
give it. There are still two games to go and hopefully we can win
them both to qualify."