Bulgaria holds Italy to 0-0 draw

Bulgaria held injury-weakened Italy to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in a World Cup qualifier.

With half of their first-choice lineup out with injuries, the reigning world champions struggled in the Group 8 match at Sofia's Vasil Levski Stadium.

"The guys played with authority and good personality," Italy coach Marcello Lippi said. "We tried everything we could to win. But (Bulgaria) has good players and we're content with this result."

Bulgaria came close to scoring in the 13th when Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov took a cross from Blagoi Georgiev, but his strong volley was blocked by Italy goalkeeper Marco Amelia.

In the 59th, Alberto Gilardino's header from a corner was saved by Dimitar Ivankov, and a few minutes later the striker _ who has scored seven goals for Fiorentina this season _ dribbled past the defense before shooting narrowly wide.

In the 79th, Daniele De Rossi's long, dipping shot sailed just over the bar.

"The game was equal and we are glad we achieved this result against the world champions," Dimitar Berbatov said.

Italy has seven points from three matches, and Bulgaria two points from two games.

Bayern Munich forward Luca Toni, who came in to replace Gilardino, will miss Italy's match against Montenegro on Wednesday after getting a second booking.

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Lineups:

Bulgaria: Dimitar Ivankov, Zhivko Milanov, Aleksandar Tunchev, Valentin Iliev, Lucio Wagner (Ivan Ivanov, 36), Blagoi Georgiev, Velizar Dimitrov, Dimitar Berbatov, Stilian Petrov, Chavdar Yankov, Martin Petrov.

Italy: Marco Amelia, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Andrea Dossena, Giorgio Chiellini, Gennaro Gattuso, Ricardo Montolivo (Simone Perrotta, 68), Daniele De Rossi, Simone Pepe, Antonio Di Natale (Giuseppe Rossi, 68), Alberto Gilardino (Luca Toni, 73).