Cannavaro had a difficult act to follow when he took over as captain from Paolo Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his leadership, calming influence and inspirational performances, helping Italy qualify for Euro 2004. After Maldini's international retirement, he first captained Italy in a 1–0 defeat to Slovenia in Trieste on 21 August 2002. He was later officially named Italy's captain for an away UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying match against Azerbaijan on 7 September, which Italy won 2–0. In Italy's qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro in Naples, on 12 October, he received a standing ovation on the pitch where he wore the local side's colours, as Italy drew 1–1.