World Of Sports

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni faces tough decisions ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2008 squad announcement, according to star striker Luca Toni.

Donadoni will unveil his squad for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland with the biggest decision being whether veteran forwards Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi will be recalled to the side.

Juventus star Del Piero, 33, ended the season top of the Serie A goalscoring charts for the first time in his career with 21 goals.

Inzaghi has spent much of the season struggling with injuries, but scored his 100th goal for AC Milan on Sunday, to make it 11 goals in 21 appearances this season.

Bayern Munich's Luca Toni, who will lead Italy's attack this summer, believes it is up front where there is most competition for places on Donadoni's teamsheet.

"Del Piero is a champion and I'm not surprised at the campaign he has had," said Toni.

"But there are many strong players in Italy and I think Donadoni will face a big challenge as he will have to make difficult choices."

Del Piero was dropped from the Azzurri squad after a string of under-par performances in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, during which he failed to score in five appearances.

Both he and Inzaghi were members of Italy's World Cup-winning side in Germany two years ago.

Udinese frontman Antonio Di Natale, who finished as Italy's joint top-scorer with Toni in the qualifying round, has been a favourite of Donadoni since he took over from Marcello Lippi as coach.

Quicker than Del Piero, Di Natale has been Donadoni's first choice to play just off Toni.

Donadoni will also have at his disposal attacking duo Marco Borriello and Fabio Quagliarella, who are ready to make their mark on the international stage.

Borriello has been inspirational while on loan at Genoa this campaign from AC Milan, and the striker was the third leading goalscorer in Serie A.

With Udinese's World Cup winner Vincenzo Iaquinta set to miss out through injury, another spot up front will open up for one of the Euro 2008 hopefuls.

Antonio Cassano's troubled past, which included a couple of unruly incidents this year while on loan from Real Madrid at Sampdoria, have almost certainly ruled him out of contention despite good performances for the Blucerchiati.

Italy's midfield is unlikely to change much from that that won the World Cup two years ago with Donadoni set to opt for AC Milan duo Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, and Roma's Daniele De Rossi.

Marco Materazzi is expected to partner captain Fabio Cannavaro at the heart of Italy's defence with Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta at full backs.

Juve's number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will be between the posts for what will be the 30-year-old's second European Championships, having missed out in 2000 after breaking his hand eight days before the tournament.