Italy in the Confederations Cup

La Nazionale have been inconsistent in this year's Confederations Cup in Brazil.  After a dominating performance in a 2-1 win over Mexico, Italy's defense has fallen apart and nearly lost to Japan before somehow squeezing out a 4-3 win.  Then against Brazil, Italy played absolutely spiritless in the first half and in the second half completely controlled the play, although they lost 4-2 which was a little harsh of a scoreline for a match that I thought was deserving of a draw.  Despite this inconsistency, gli Azzurri have made it to the semifinals against Spain, in a rematch of last summer's EURO 2012 Final in which Spain won 4-0.  I would say this is going to be a fantastic match and Italy has a great chance of winning it, but I'm not.  Mario Balotelli has officially been ruled out for the game with a thigh injury he picked up agaisnt Brazil.  This is a massive loss for Italy as there is really no other strikers we can depend on.  I mean, do you really trust Alberto Gilardino to be our hero alongside Stephen El Shaarawy who hasn't scored since January and who's confidence is practically zero?  I love Cesare Prandelli, but I do question some of his call-ups.  Instead of Gilardino, why not Di Natale or Cassano?  Also, why not start Giovinco over Gilardino?  On the other hand, Italy still have Pirlo and De Rossi who have been fantastic in this tournament and who I think can save Italy's chances in the tournament.  The defense will have to really tighten up against the best team ever walk this earth and El Shaarawy will have to step up.  This is his time to shine and to finally end his long, long run of bad form.  It's a perfect opportunity for him to help people remember who he really is just like back in the first half of the season with Milan.  In the end, I think Spain will come out with a 2-0 win sadly, and going on to win another tournament with relative ease.  Italy just needs to make a few changes to their call-ups and tactical play and they'll be, in my opinion, the second best team in the world again.  No matter what happens Thursday, I'd say it was a fairly successful tournament for gli Azzurri.