The last 16 stage of the tournament has thrown up a potential giant killing with three-time champions Italy taking on underdog Australia on Monday.

The Italians have been present at every World Cup since 1962 and are among the favorites to win the trophy, despite their recent failures in major competitions. They are unbeaten in their last 21 international matches, a run which includes friendly wins against World Cup hosts Germany and Holland.

The Australians are appearing at their first World Cup for 32 years, but their stirring first round performances suggest they could cause an upset. And their coach, Guus Hiddink, knows what it takes to beat Italy having masterminded South Korea's shock 2-1 victory over the Azzurri in the second round of the 2002 World Cup.

"It's going to be fantastic," said Australia winger Harry Kewell, who is in doubt for the match and missed training on Sunday. "We weren't even supposed to get this far. A lot of people wrote us off, but we were quietly confident and we don't fear anybody. Against Italy we've got to out there and play our football and not worry about the opposition."

Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon is full of admiration for Hiddink, but predicted that this time the Dutchman's motivational skills will fall short. "He's a great coach, we know that, and the results he has achieved speak for themselves," Buffon said. "He's achieved historic results with mediocre teams. But I believe that on our part many things have changed in the past four years. We are confident of going through."

Italy is trying to cope with the distraction of the Serie A match-fixing scandal. Four clubs - Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, have been charged with match-fixing and could face relegation if found directly guilty of sporting fraud. Thirteen of the Italy squad play for the clubs involved, but nobody in the 23-man group, or coach Marcello Lippi, is implicated.

Alessandro Nesta has been ruled out for Italy after failing to recover from a groin strain. Marco Materazzi, who scored against the Czech Republic after coming off the bench to replace Nesta, will retain his place at the heart of the defense.

Midfielder Daniele De Rossi will also be absent for Italy as he serves the second of a four-match ban for elbowing the USA's Brian McBride in the face.

Australia, whose World Cup campaign has captured the imagination of a country where rugby and cricket rule, will be without Brett Emerton. The dynamic Blackburn Rovers midfielder was sent off in the 2-2 draw against Croatia on Thursday.

"They're going to have to do it without me, but I'm sure they can do it," Emerton said. "I think it's more nerve-wracking just sitting and watching than playing, so I'm not looking forward to that."

Mark Schwarzer will return in goal for Australia in place of Zeljko Kalac, who looked nervous against Croatia and gifted them a soft goal. Three of the Australia squad play in Italy's Serie A: Kalac (AC Milan) and midfielders Marco Bresciano and Vincenzo Grella (both Parma).