The Azzurri lost 2-0 to Brazil last night, but ‘Gigi’ and Gianluca believe they can take a few positives from their performance in the second half.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi’s 31-game unbeaten record came to an end last night as goals from Elano and Robinho gave Brazil a 2-0 win over the Nazionale at the Emirates Stadium in London.

But the Azzurri were left to rue an incorrectly disallowed goal. Full-back Fabio Grosso sprung the offside trap to volley past Selecao ‘keeper Julio Cesar only to be denied by the referee’s assistant. Immediately after that moment, the South Americans took the lead.

“We wanted to give a good account of ourselves,” Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said after the encounter.

“Our second half was good and the 2-0 score was a bit harsh in the end. Should we re-play this game, I’m sure it would be completely different.”

And Milan defender Gianluca Zambrotta, who produced a superb performance on the right flank, echoed Buffon’s comments.

“We should erase that first period but we did many good things after the restart,” he insisted.

“It was a very important friendly match and it was nice to be a part of it, however, the crucial games will be the World Cup qualifiers.”