"I'm delighted with the result. Our opponents showed themselves to be as strong as we thought they would be. Under certain aspects they were better than us," said Lippi.

"But I think overall we deserved to win. From a psychological point of view the first match is always difficult to win and I thought the lads did really well to close it out."

"We knew they were physically strong but over the 90 minutes we had that little bit extra.

"I was especially pleased with the way we closed them down because when they get in space, that's when they are dangerous," said Lippi, whose surprise decision to start with Simone Perrotta ahead of Mauro Camoranesi in midfield paid off.

"Whether it was entertaining or not is a subjective issue but we knew it would be tough and we got the result we wanted."

Lippi said Francesco Totti [Images], returning after a broken ankle, had not suffered a serious injury before he was taken off and added that he never planned to play him for 90 minutes.

"I didn't substitute him because of the tackle -- I was going to substitute him anyway," said the Italy coach of his key player who has only once managed to last a full match since returning from three months on the sidelines.

"There were some positive signs from Francesco, I was pleased with what he did. I liked the way we played overall tonight.," he added.

A newly cropped Totti, who said he had his hair cut four hours before kickoff, was pleased with his display in his first truly major test since his ankle operation.

"Initially, I couldn't find the right position. Once we'd scored our first goal though they opened up a bit and everything became a little easier," he said.

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The forward, considered key to Italy's hopes, limped off after a heavy challenge from John Paintsil but said he was fine.

"I was lucky. It was a heavy tackle and I felt quite a lot of pain. For a moment I was worried but it soon became clear that it wasn't anything too serious," he said.

Substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta, whose late goal added to Andrea Pirlo's 40th minute opener, was delighted with his first goal for the national side.

"It's an incredible feeling to get a goal in a World Cup. I think I justified Lippi's decision to send me on and I'm glad I've been able to repay his faith in me," said the Udinese forward.