Italy coach Marcello Lippi was pleased with their 0-0 draw at World Cup qualifying opponents Bulgaria.

Simone Pepe and Giuseppe Rossi made their senior Italy debuts, while Riccardo Montolivo was also bumped up from the Under-21 side.

Lippi said: "I had seen there was a good rapport between the new and older players, so I was confident we would see a strong team performance.

"There were some fine players out there tonight, some older and some younger. Gianluca Zambrotta did very well against a tough client like Martin Petrov and Andrea Dossena also impressed.

"There were few shots on target, but plenty of crosses into the box and good chances, such as when Rossi threaded through for Gilardino and the first touch let him down. It's tough to break through in games like this."