Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has hailed the performance of his midfield in their hard-fought 2-1 win over England on Saturday.

Mario Balotelli's headed finish in the 50th minute proved to be the winner in the Group D encounter, which gave Italy a winning start to their campaign in Brazil.

Italy controlled the tempo of the game throughout and dominated possession, leading to praise from Prandelli, who lauded the technical ability of his midfield players.

"I am clearly satisfied with this victory as this match against England was very difficult, they are a very good team," Prandelli told reporters. "We had a very good basis in midfield.

"We don't have players who are as powerful as England so we had to enhance the abilities of our players.

"They have technical abilities that are really, really good. In the first half we had better ball possession. This is a way to go."

Italy face Costa Rica in their second World Cup game on Friday.