Italy coach Marcello Lippi was satisfied with his players following the 2-1 win in their World Cup qualifier against Montenegro tonight, which allowed him to equal legendary two-time World Cup winning coach Vittorio Pozzo's record 30-match unbeaten streak.

Just seconds after seeing Italy beat Montenegro 2-1 in Lecce in tonight's World Cup qualifier, coach Marcello Lippi talked about the match and equalling 1930s coach Vittorio Pozzo's record of 30 straight games without defeat.

"I am proud of all the players, both those who made their debut and the veterans," he said. "We had been working very well for the last ten days, and now have four points more. We may get criticism, but that is all that matters to me.

"Montenegro are a team who will cause problems to many teams, they came here to play football and did well. Also, they were in a better physical shape because they hadn't played last weekend."

On equalling Pozzo's record, Lippi said: "It's great to have equalled the record of an icon like him, but what matters most to me is that these 30 matches without defeat have earned us a World Cup, and now we are building a new team. Personal records don't matter to me."

Italy lead Group 8 with 10 points from 4 games, 3 above closest challengers Ireland, although Giovanni Trapattoni's side have played one game less. Tonight the Republic beat Cyprus 1-0, while Georgia and Bulgaria drew 0-0 in the other Group 8 match.