Italy and Brazil took part in an international friendly match at the Emirates Stadium in London earlier tonight, a match that ended 2-0 in favour of the South Americans.
Goals from Elano and Robinho were enough for them to overcome the current World champions, despite the fact that they too found the back of the net on two occasions, only for both goals to be ruled out for differing reasons.
At the completion of the contest, Udineses Simone Pepe, a man who earned his fourth successive cap for the Azzurri, made it clear that despite being disappointed with their performance, he and his team-mates gave their all against an impressive Brazilian outfit.
Tonight Brazil had a lot of the possession, and they made it difficult for us to get into the match, Pepe affirmed in an interview with Rai.
Through the midfield we tried to work our way into it, but they were very strong in this area.
Had we taken our opportunities however, then the result may have been very different, he added.
Lippi is right by saying that in a year and a half, things will be different for us.
Pepe had a final comment to make in regards to Fabio Grossos goal that was disallowed for offside early in the first half.
The goal scored in the opening stages by Grosso was normal, and it should have stood.
The referee decided to cancel it however, and soon after, Brazil went ahead and the game was changed.
Unfortunately things did not go our way tonight, but we certainly gave our all.
Now we must look to the future, and hope that we can bounce back from this result, he concluded.
The Italians have been drawn in the same group alongside Brazil at the Confederations Cup, which will be played in South Africa later this year, and they will have the opportunity to redeem themselves then.