Del Piero and his Italian teammates have been working hard at their training camp in Belem, Lisbon – just a few miles from where England are based.

But he told TheFA.com that he will take a few hours off on Sunday night to watch England against France on television.

The match may come just 24 hours before Italy take on Denmark in their opening fixture. But Juventus striker Del Piero wouldn’t miss it for the world.

He said: "I will watch it on television with a lot of the Italian players. It’s absolutely the match I have been waiting for in this tournament. There is no question that it is the biggest game of the first round.

"It will be a game between two great teams in world football. I don’t know who will win and nobody does. But it will be a special match."

Del Piero has also insisted there is no split in the Italian camp, despite reports of a rift between players in the starting line-up and those on the bench.

The rumours began after midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was quoted earlier in the week insisting he should be in the team and Italy should revert to a four in midfield, like his club AC Milan, in order to accommodate him.

But Del Piero is adamant the players are together.

He said: "Every player in the team wants to play, they want to be on the pitch and that’s normal. There’s no problem with the team or the spirit. There are a lot of players unlucky not to be in the team. Gattuso sees it that way but that’s normal.

"For every player to be happy you would have to have 23 on the pitch. We have a strong team and great quality. That’s very good but also difficult for the coach because he can only play 11. Everyone has to give their best, and we will."