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Father knows best
MILAN, Italy (AP) -- For Italy's soccer team, father really does know best.Coach Cesare Maldini has long made a point of encouraging his son, Paolo, to make attacking runs up the left flank from his position as defender. The strategy has produced results, with Paolo scoring at a much faster clip when his father is on the bench.
The AC Milan veteran headed in the first goal after four minutes Wednesday night, sparking Italy to a 3-1 victory over fellow qualifier Paraguay in a World Cup tuneup.
After scoring three goals in 40 national team games under previous coach Arrigo Sacchi, Paolo has needed just 13 games to match that total since Cesare took over the Azzurri in 1996.
And he tallied five goals in just 12 games in the 1980s when his father headed Italy's Under-21 team.
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GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan