Outgoing captain Fabio Cannavaro insists changes are needed in Italian football or the team could face a lengthy wait before regaining the World Cup.

An ageing Italy side crashed out of the 2010 tournament at the group stage on Thursday with a 3-2 defeat to Slovakia and the match marked the end of the road in international football for 36-year-old Cannavaro, who made 136 appearances for the Azzurri and led them to World Cup glory in 2006.

The central defender told Gazzetta dello Sport: "In our football several things need to change otherwise we will not win the World Cup again for 25 years."