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Vieri scored two goals, his first coming after only seven minutes, as Italy defeated Ecuador 2-0 in Group G action on Monday.
Italy went up 1-0 when Francesco Totti made a dash down the right side of Ecuador's penalty box, and expertly cut the ball back for Vieri, who slammed it into the right-hand corner of the net.
Christian Vieri scored two goals against Ecuador, giving Italy a 2-0 win in Group G action at the World Cup on Monday. (AP/Luca Bruno)
Vieri's second goal came 20 minutes later when he brilliantly ran onto a long, high pass from Luigi Di Biagio in midfield, and put it past Ecuadorian goalkeeper Jose Cevallos.
"It was a great ball that Di Biagio sent my way," said Vieri. "To score two goals in the first half of the first game -- you feel good. Playing together with Totti worked well."
The goal were the 11 and 12th of Vieri's international career and each was a flourish of his tremendous strength and skill, which used to run through and overpower the Ecuadorean defence.
"There are more goals on the way," Vieri said after the match, who now has seven goals in six World Cup matches going back to 1998.
With the game apparently well in hand, Italy took its foot off the accelerator for most of the second half, playing a control game, although there were efforts to set Vieri up for a hat trick.
"The boys tried too hard to get me a third goal, but it doesn't really matter," said Vieri. "We're going to improve on this."
"All the team was in form," Totti said. "We produced some beautiful play. We could have scored more goals, but the Ecuador 'keeper made some good saves. We started the right way."
Despite controlling the majority of the possession with some concise passing, the South Americans had a very difficult time breaking down the Italian defence and couldn't muster a decent scoring chance. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was only seriously tested once, as Ecuador's few shots on net lacked any kind of power or pace.
"The early goal helped us and made it easier to score the second," Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni said. "We didn't allow Ecuador any real chances."
Far from overmatched, though, Ecuador made a decent accounting of itself, taking the action to the mighty Italians in the second half. When they were forced to defend, Ecuador put as many as eight players behind the ball in an attempt to thwart the Azzurri.
"We lost against one of the tournament favourites, so we're not discouraged," Ecuador coach Hernan Dario Gomez said.
"It's tough playing your first World Cup match ever against a team like Italy. What an initiation."
Trapattoni abandoned his favoured 3-5-2 configuration, choosing instead to go with a more traditional 4-4-2 formation. Christian Panucci started in defence alongside Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta.
Trapattoni also decided to start Vieri and Totti up front, bringing on star forward Alessandro Del Piero as a substitute in the 74th minute.
With the win, Italy now tops Group G with three points. Mexico defeated Croatia 1-0 earlier in the day in Group G action, but Italy goes ahead in the standings on goal difference.
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