UISBURG, Germany _ Italy coach Marcello Lippi is planning a private discussion with Daniele De Rossi, and is expecting the midfielder to receive some harsh punishment for elbowing United States forward Brian McBride in the face.

"He's a fantastic kid but he's got to change his ways or he's going to carry that reputation with him for a long time," Lippi said Sunday.

De Rossi's elbow in the 28th minute of Saturday's 1-1 draw earned him a red card and drew blood by opening a cut under McBride's left eye. The cut required three stitches to close.

De Rossi also received a yellow card for an aggressive foul in Italy's opening win over Ghana.

De Rossi apologized to McBride after the game and the American called him "classy" for the post-match gesture. Lippi said he would let De Rossi "stew in his own broth for a while" before speaking with him.

"He's got to think over things for a while, and not only about last night," the coach said. "Then I'll talk with him. Unfortunately I think I have plenty of time."

Francesco Totti was banned for three matches at the 2004 European Championship for spitting at a Danish opponent.

"Unfortunately, Italian players have these habits and they have a tough time at the international level," Lippi said.

Giancarlo Abete, the head of Italy's World Cup delegation, said the team would accept FIFA's punishment, "whatever it may be."

That's a turnaround from two years ago, when Italy brought in high-profile lawyer Giulia Bongiorno to defend Totti in the spitting case.

Abete pointed out that FIFA uses only its own official TV replays to examine disciplinary cases, as opposed to how UEFA allowed private footage from Danish TV as evidence in the Totti case.

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