Italy's veteran goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon returned to the side to play Costa Rica in Group D on Friday.
Buffon missed the 2-1 victory over England with an ankle injury. Coach Cesare Prandelli also brought in Ignazio Abate in place of Gabriel Paletta in defence and Paris Saint-Germain's Thiago Motta for club team-mate Marco Verratti in midfield.
Costa Rica coach Oscar Tabarez kept faith with the side that upset Uruguay 3-1 in their opening game.
Teams:
Italy
Gianluigi Buffon (capt); Matteo Darmian, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Ignazio Abate; Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Pirlo, Thiago Motta; Antonio Candreva, Claudio Marchisio; Mario Balotelli.
Coach: Cesare Prandelli (ITA)
Costa Rica
Keylor Navas; Christian Gamboa, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umana, Oscar Duarte, Junior Diaz; Celso Borges, Yeltsin Tejeda, Christian Bolanos; Bryan Ruiz (capt), Joel Campbell Coach: Oscar Tabarez (URU) – AFP