Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni plans to start with the returning Filippo Inzaghi for Saturday's Group G match with Croatia in Ibaraki.
Inzaghi missed Italy's 2-0 win over Ecuador on Monday because of a knee injury.
But Inzaghi has recovered and Trapattoni will play him alongside Christian Vieri, whose two goals saw off Ecuador.
Trapattoni's one injury worry concerns midfielder Luigi di Biagio, who is hampered by an in-growing toenail.
Croatia coach Mirko Jozic has axed midfielder Robert Prosinecki and striker Davor Suker from the starting line-up for Saturday's game with Italy.
They were both substituted after poor showings in Croatia's 1-0 opening defeat to Mexico.
Dario Simic has recovered from injury but the defender is not assured of a place in Croatia's side.
One of the most intriguing matches in the first round brings together 1994's runners-up and 1998's third-placed side.
The two near neighbours from southern Europe are tipped by many to enjoy another good run in 2002.
But few would be surprised if this match is a tight affair, perhaps won by the only goal or a repeat of 1999's goalless friendly.
Club versus country
The following clubmates could find themselves facing each other in this match:-
Inter Milan
Francesco Toldo (Ita), Marco Materazzi (Ita), Luigi Di Biagio (Ita), Cristiano Zanetti (Ita), Christian Vieri (Ita) and Dario Simic (Cro)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATCH PREVIEW STATISTICS
EC Q = European Championship Qualifier
F = Friendly International
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXTURE HISTORY
DATE COMP MATCH RESULT
05 Apr 1942 F Italy 4-0 Croatia
16 Nov 1994 EC Q Italy 1-2 Croatia
08 Oct 1995 EC Q Croatia 1-1 Italy
28 Apr 1999 F Croatia 0-0 Italy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATCH SHORTS
Italy and Croatia have played each other three times since Croatia declared independence. Croatia are unbeaten in these three games.
The only other match between the two countries came back in 1942 when Croatia was also independent - the Italians won 4-0.
Croatia's Boris Zivkovic is suspended for this match, having been the first player sent off at this World Cup.
The only player in this match who has already received a yellow card is Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro.
Paolo Maldini played the full 90 minutes of his 20th World Cup match against Ecuador. This means he has yet to miss a minute of any of his games and a complete 90 minutes against Croatia will equal Uwe Seeler's World Cup record of 21 complete World Cup matches.
Maldini also became the sixth player to make any sort of appearance in at least 20 World Cup matches. The others were Lothar Matth?us, Diego Maradona, Wladyslaw Zmuda, Uwe Seeler and Grzegorz Lato.
Italian striker Christian Vieri is now just two goals away from equalling the record for most prolific Italian goalscorer at World Cups. Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio both scored nine World Cup goals whereas Vieri now has seven.
Angelo di Livio became the oldest outfield player to play for Italy in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute against Ecuador. The midfielder will be 36-years-old next month.
Robert Jarni, Davor ?uker and Mario Stanic are the only players to play in all eight of Croatia's World Cup matches.
Croatia's Robert Prosinecki will play his 50th international match for Croatia if he plays. He also represented Yugoslavia before Croatia gained independence.
Croatia's defeat against Mexico was their first reverse in 2002.
Italy are now unbeaten for 12 World Cup matches. If they avoid defeat against Croatia, they will equal the all-time World Cup record of 13 unbeaten matches held by Brazil between 1958 and 1966.
Italy have not conceded a goal at the World Cup since Austria scored against them in their final group match of 1998. The time since the ball last went into their net is 270 minutes as Austria's penalty in that game came in injury time.
Croatia are yet to draw a World Cup match.
Italy's last defeat in a competitive match came at the hands of France in Euro 2000. They have played nine times without defeat since then.
Zivkovic's red card was Croatia's first in the World Cup.
Inzaghi missed Italy's 2-0 win over Ecuador on Monday because of a knee injury.
But Inzaghi has recovered and Trapattoni will play him alongside Christian Vieri, whose two goals saw off Ecuador.
Trapattoni's one injury worry concerns midfielder Luigi di Biagio, who is hampered by an in-growing toenail.
Croatia coach Mirko Jozic has axed midfielder Robert Prosinecki and striker Davor Suker from the starting line-up for Saturday's game with Italy.
They were both substituted after poor showings in Croatia's 1-0 opening defeat to Mexico.
Dario Simic has recovered from injury but the defender is not assured of a place in Croatia's side.
One of the most intriguing matches in the first round brings together 1994's runners-up and 1998's third-placed side.
The two near neighbours from southern Europe are tipped by many to enjoy another good run in 2002.
But few would be surprised if this match is a tight affair, perhaps won by the only goal or a repeat of 1999's goalless friendly.
Club versus country
The following clubmates could find themselves facing each other in this match:-
Inter Milan
Francesco Toldo (Ita), Marco Materazzi (Ita), Luigi Di Biagio (Ita), Cristiano Zanetti (Ita), Christian Vieri (Ita) and Dario Simic (Cro)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATCH PREVIEW STATISTICS
EC Q = European Championship Qualifier
F = Friendly International
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXTURE HISTORY
DATE COMP MATCH RESULT
05 Apr 1942 F Italy 4-0 Croatia
16 Nov 1994 EC Q Italy 1-2 Croatia
08 Oct 1995 EC Q Croatia 1-1 Italy
28 Apr 1999 F Croatia 0-0 Italy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MATCH SHORTS
Italy and Croatia have played each other three times since Croatia declared independence. Croatia are unbeaten in these three games.
The only other match between the two countries came back in 1942 when Croatia was also independent - the Italians won 4-0.
Croatia's Boris Zivkovic is suspended for this match, having been the first player sent off at this World Cup.
The only player in this match who has already received a yellow card is Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro.
Paolo Maldini played the full 90 minutes of his 20th World Cup match against Ecuador. This means he has yet to miss a minute of any of his games and a complete 90 minutes against Croatia will equal Uwe Seeler's World Cup record of 21 complete World Cup matches.
Maldini also became the sixth player to make any sort of appearance in at least 20 World Cup matches. The others were Lothar Matth?us, Diego Maradona, Wladyslaw Zmuda, Uwe Seeler and Grzegorz Lato.
Italian striker Christian Vieri is now just two goals away from equalling the record for most prolific Italian goalscorer at World Cups. Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio both scored nine World Cup goals whereas Vieri now has seven.
Angelo di Livio became the oldest outfield player to play for Italy in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute against Ecuador. The midfielder will be 36-years-old next month.
Robert Jarni, Davor ?uker and Mario Stanic are the only players to play in all eight of Croatia's World Cup matches.
Croatia's Robert Prosinecki will play his 50th international match for Croatia if he plays. He also represented Yugoslavia before Croatia gained independence.
Croatia's defeat against Mexico was their first reverse in 2002.
Italy are now unbeaten for 12 World Cup matches. If they avoid defeat against Croatia, they will equal the all-time World Cup record of 13 unbeaten matches held by Brazil between 1958 and 1966.
Italy have not conceded a goal at the World Cup since Austria scored against them in their final group match of 1998. The time since the ball last went into their net is 270 minutes as Austria's penalty in that game came in injury time.
Croatia are yet to draw a World Cup match.
Italy's last defeat in a competitive match came at the hands of France in Euro 2000. They have played nine times without defeat since then.
Zivkovic's red card was Croatia's first in the World Cup.
