Player Focus: In Form Italy Strikers Giving Prandelli Selection Dilemma

When England travel to Brazil the fear and trepidation from the fans when it comes to opposition forwards will likely focus around Uruguay's deadly duo. The prospect of facing Messrs Suarez and Cavani would be enough to put the frighteners up even the hardiest of defences, and the pessimistic of the Three Lions' faithful - of which there are ever-increasing numbers - won't hold out much hope of keeping the South Americans at bay.

Before then, however, they face an Italy side that has, in the past, been renowned primarily for their defensive solidity. While they've had some exceptional attacking players in the past - Baggio, Del Piero and Inzaghi to name a few in recent history - the Azzurri have not always had the most prolific of strikers, on the international front at least.

Indeed, the all-time top scorer for the Italy national team is Luigi Riva, with 35. In comparison, there are five Englishmen to have bettered that record, including current incumbent of the centre forward position Wayne Rooney (38). In all likelihood the top scorer at international level in the Italian squad likely to be heading to the World Cup will be the primarily defensive midfielder Daniele De Rossi, with 15.

In an attempt to add firepower to their attack the Azzurri have at times looked to some old heads in the past. This season there have been persistent mutterings of recalls for the likes of Francesco Totti and Antonio Cassano. There are a number of veteran forwards in Serie A that continue to impress, with the likes of Di Natale and Toni both reaching double figures once again, but in reality Italy need to move on.

Cesare Prandelli will be sweating on the fitness of the likes of Giuseppe Rossi and Stephan El Shaarawy to bolster his front line, with Mario Balotelli perhaps the only certainty - injuries permitting - of out-and-out strikers to make the cut. Torino's Alessio Cerci may also be grouped in the 'forwards' category and seems likely to be on the plane, though there are reasons for optimism for the coach and the fans.

The form of both Ciro Immobile and Mattia Destro in particular has come at a helpful time as Prandelli fine tunes his plans. A match-winning hat-trick from the latter last weekend certainly did his hopes the world of good, while the former netted for the third game running to take his tally to a league-topping 18 for the season (equal with Carlos Tevez). With the duo aged 24 and 23 respectively this may well be an ideal time to blood them into major international competition.

Immobile's performances this season, however, may not be enough to see him pair up with Tevez at Juventus after the World Cup, with the Italian champions reported to be willing to offload their share in the front man. Should he make the squad, he may well be playing for a move elsewhere then, with Borussia Dortmund recently mooted with an interest.

It's little surprise given his goalscoring exploits this season, having proven his ability to find space in the box with intelligent movement after a disappointing campaign with Genoa. A number of his strikes this time around have been those of a true poacher, with his unerring finishing likely to have appeased Prandelli.

The 24-year old's 18 goals have come from 79 shots, and while Immobile is clearly picking up positions on a consistent basis his conversion rate of 22.8% remains very strong. His return in terms of chance creation is modest, with 2 assists from an average of 0.8 key passes per game, but he has the ability to carry the ball forward himself, whilst also having the added bonus of a successful partnership with the increasingly in favour Cerci.

The fact that Mattia Destro is potentially a similar prospect for defences to come up against may well mean that the two are vying for one spot in the squad. The Roma man's return to form and, perhaps more pertinently, fitness has certainly forced his name back into the frame.

Rewind 8 months and the 23-year old became somewhat of a laughing stock, piling on a significant amount of weight after suffering a knee injury that left him out of action over the summer. While he's kept the facial fuzz that didn't exactly aid his dishevelled appearance at the time, Destro has shed the weight and is reaping the rewards.

Though he's perhaps a little less involved in Roma's team play than Immobile at Torino, the former Inter youngster has an even better strike rate. His 13 league goals this term have come from just 19 appearances, of which only 12 have been starts.

With his current goal tally having come from just 37 shots, Destro's conversion rate this season is up at a remarkable 35.1%. It's the best figure in this regard of any player to have registered double figures in Europe's top 5 league this season, of which there are 86. While Immobile ranks a highly respectable 16th in that list, it's interesting that dead last is Mario Balotelli (10.3%), while Alessio Cerci is just two places above (11.9%).

It's perhaps a little unfortunate then that both Destro and Immobile may well be forced to compete for a single spot in the squad when you consider the finishing statistics of the likely shoo-ins ahead of them. It's clear, however, that there are goalscoring options available to Prandelli, and England and co. will need to be wary of as much.

Should either Immobile or Destro, or both, be heading to the World Cup this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below