PERUGIA, Italy -- Italy was held to a 1-1 draw by Luxembourg on Wednesday in its final World Cup warm-up match before leaving for Brazil, with forward Mario Balotelli looking in impressive form. Claudio Marchisio headed Italy in front in the ninth minute after a splendid assist from Balotelli but Maxime Chanot levelled five minutes from time. It was Italys seventh successive match without a win, although the six draws and a defeat to Spain have all happened after securing qualification for the World Cup. "This test is absolutely not a failure, we tried to do things we had practiced in training," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "But its clear we have to improve. But we had to try certain things as we have very few matches. "We know that we werent brilliant, but we leave with the knowledge that we can have a great World Cup." Prandelli had said Balotelli would amaze with his improved form and the AC Milan forward was involved in most of the Azzurris best moves. He went close to scoring on several occasions and hit the crossbar as Italy dominated. Italy departs on Thursday and will play Brazilian club Fluminense in a final friendly match on June 8, six days before kicking off its World Cup campaign against England in Manaus. Prandellis side also faces Costa Rica and Uruguay in Group D. Italy started brightly and took an early lead when Marchisio picked out Balotelli from near the halfway line. The forward controlled the ball perfectly before crossing for the onrushing Marchisio to head home from close range. Balotelli almost doubled Italys advantage shortly afterward but a last-ditch tackle saw his effort deflected over the bar. The tempo slowed down somewhat but Italy should have extended its lead two minutes before halftime, when free-kick specialist Andrea Pirlo saw his effort parried with a diving save by Anthony Moris and Balotelli fired just wide of the left upright as the moved continued. Moments earlier, Antonio Candreva had also fired narrowly wide. Balotelli had another chance just after the interval when he sent a snapshot past the far post. Antonio Cassano came off the bench for only his second appearance since the European Championship final in 2012 and he almost made an immediate impact with a through ball to Balotelli, who bamboozled two players before evading a tackle from a third as he unleashed a shot which crashed off the crossbar. Candreva also hit the crossbar moments later. Luxembourg had barely troubled Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon but levelled in the final minutes when Chanot headed home Mario Mutschs corner. Ignazio Abate almost immediately restored Italys advantage but was denied by Moris. .com) - Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is set to return Tuesday against Nashville after sitting out the past two games because of a minor upper body injury. . Or how his team has defended Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Or just about anything that has happened on the court in the first-round playoff series. Instead, Rivers and his players spent Saturday talking about how they would respond to an audio recording of a man identified as Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend not to bring black people to games.
http://www.cheappanthersjerseyssale.com ... ersey-sale. 1 Pete Sampras. Speaking ahead of an exhibition match against Andre Agassi in London on March 3, Sampras said on a conference call Wednesday that he is impressed by Federers longevity. . Wheeler scored two goals, including the winner, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Friday in a game that featured a seven-goal first period. . The redshirt freshman finished the regular season with nearly 3,500 passing yards, and 35 touchdowns with another three on the ground while leading the Seminoles to the top of the BCS Rankings.MADRID, Spain -- Two-time winner Alberto Contador says he will miss the Spanish Vuelta next month because he will not be fit in time. The Tinkoff-Saxo rider was still dealing with the right shin he broke in a crash which ended his Tour de France on Stage 10. He hoped to defy his doctors and race in the home Grand Tour he won in 2008 and 2012, but he says therre have been complications in his recovery.dddddddddddd In a tweet on Wednesday, Contador said "Adios" to the Vuelta, adding he had not been given a date when he could begin to ride again. He called it "a bad day," and thanked the medical team looking after him at the Cemtro Clinic in Madrid. The Vuelta begins on Aug. 23. ' ' '
