JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Marcello Lippi took all responsibility for Italy's stunning 3-2 loss to Slovakia and an early exit of the World Cup after a Group F match here on Thursday.

Italy only took two points from the previous two group matches and the third round proved to be a must-win. But the Azzurri failed to meet the standards of reigning champions, crashing out of the group stage.

"I take all responsibility for what happened, no excuses," Lippi made a statement in a post-match press conference. "If the team showed us just the game like tonight, that means the coach is simply unable to train the team well psychologically and technically. It's evident."

"I didn't expect to end my experience with the Federation in such a fashion and I did expect a performance differently," said the 62-year old Lippi, who took the Italian team to the champions in 2006 World Cup.
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