Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi was delighted to wear the captain's armband for Italy in last night's 2-0 defeat of South Africa.

"It was important to do well here and I think it was a great performance from all the debutants. Everyone had a reason to impress today," said De Rossi.

"How to renew the squad is down to the Coach. The team, even the one that played Georgia on Saturday, is relatively young and the situation is not so urgent. We have the same spirit as the World Cup side."

Scotland's 2-0 defeat in Georgia and the 2-0 victory by France against Lithuania put the top three teams within two points of each other - but the Azzurri have a game in hand.

"Naturally we kept an eye on what was happening in Georgia. It was important, but I must admit I kind of expected it," smiled De Rossi.

"Now qualification really is in our hands and in terms of prestige, technique and confidence, I believe we would have gone to Glasgow for the win anyway."