Italy captain Andrea Pirlo believes the team must produce more quality as they look to put their woeful World Cup behind them.

The AC Milan midfielder suffered a leg injury before the tournament in South Africa and played just 34 minutes in Italy's final group game against Slovakia.

The 3-2 defeat saw the Azzurri knocked out and finish bottom of their group with two points after draws against New Zealand and Paraguay.

They launch their attempt to qualify for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine on Friday when they travel to Estonia before hosting the Faroe Islands on Tuesday, and Cesare Prandelli's side will be expected to have six points following their opening games.

Pirlo, though, refuses to under-estimate Estonia and has called for a change across the game in Italy.

He told Gazzetta dello Sport: "I want us to win in Tallinn and play well.

"It will be a small pitch with many pitfalls.

"Last year Estonia only lost 1-0 to Brazil. They are a good team.

"Victory is a mandatory target for us."

The 31-year-old added: "South Africa showed that those who have quality will win in the end.

"We need to start playing football. We have to learn how to play with the ball on the ground and make quick exchanges of play.

"Italian football's problem is that we all have less quality: the players, the fans and the stadia.

"We must rediscover it."

With Luca Cigarini replacing the injured Claudio Marchisio, there are now five uncapped players in the Italy squad for coach Prandelli's competitive debut - his second game in charge, which follows the 1-0 defeat by Ivory Coast in a friendly in London last month.

Prandelli will be boosted by the news Antonio Cassano appears to have overcome a back problem after he sat out training yesterday.

Cassano trained separately from the team with Riccardo Montolivo, who yesterday had a muscle problem, as both men aim to be fit for Friday, while Daniele de Rossi, who rested yesterday, trained today.

As well as Estonia and the Faroe Islands, Italy will also face Serbia, Northern Ireland and Slovenia.