Alessandro Nesta: 'Italy should look to youth'

Former World Cup winner Alessandro Nesta has said that Italy should focus on the development of their younger players.

The Azzurri had been expected to progress from the group stages of World Cup, but saw their tournament hopes ended following a 1-0 defeat against Uruguay on Tuesday.

With the future of some of the more senior members of the Italy squad uncertain, Nesta says that the country must give their younger players a chance in the first team.

"In my opinion, right now, Italy faces a change between old and young players. It's not an easy moment for Italian football," he told Goal.com.

"We have to look at the younger generation. Marco Verratti is the strongest one we have. Then Alessio Cerci, Lorenzo Insigne, Claudio Marchisio. They are the most talented and they are likely to make a strong contribution in the future. Stephan El Shaarawy is another."

Nesta made 78 appearances for the Italian national side and was part of the country's World Cup-winning squad in 2006.