Italy strike late in extra time to beat Germany

4 July 2006 23:31

Fabio Grosso scores the opening goal (Action Images)

DORTMUND, Jul 4 (SW) - Italy are through to the final of the 2006 World Cup, beating hosts Germany with goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero, late in extra time.

The first opportunity came in the fourth minute, when Francesco Totti took a free kick from about thirty meters. The ball headed for Italy's goal, but Buffon controlled.

Italy were the better side in the opening minutes, but Germany soon recovered and balanced the situation on the pitch.

In the eleventh minute, the Italians were dangerous as Grosso sent in a low cross from the left side, but a German defender stood in the right place and cleared.

Michael Ballack received the ball on the edge of the Italian penalty area in the 13th minute, and turned around to shoot, but the ball was blocked by an opponent.

And three minutes later, Italy came close to opening the score when Simone Perrotta entered the area with only Jens Lehmann to beat, but the goalkeeper did well to collect the ball.

In the 25th minute, an out-swinging free kick by Andrea Pirlo was only just missed by both Luca Toni and Marco Materazzi.

Germany's first big chance came in the 34th minute, when Bernd Schneider was alone on the right side and received the ball from Miroslav Klose, but the midfielder missed the target.

Tim Borowski tackled Totti from behind in the 40th minute and was the first player to get booked in this match.

Mauro Camoranesi threatened the German defense in the 42nd minute, heading just over the crossbar from an Andrea Pirlo free kick.

Five minutes into the second half, Miroslav Klose got past three defenders before goalkeeper Buffon performed a correct tackle to end the attack.

From here on, the match slowed down as the tension increased in Dortmund. The action mainly took place in midfield and both teams were afraid to open up too much space at the back.

In the 63rd minute, the Germans came close as Lukas Podolski turned around the ball to shoot on goal from close range, but Buffon saved. In the rebound, Arne Friedrich struck over.

In the ten minutes after the hour mark, Germany were the better side, putting more pressure on the Italian defense to try and score before having to move on to extra time.

Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann was first to make a change, taking off Tim Borowski for Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 73rd minute.

Not much later, Marcello Lippi brought on Alberto Gilardino for Luca Toni in order to bring some fresh legs up front.

In the 76th minute, Zambrotta broke through on the right wing but his cross was then missed by his teammates in front of the goal.

Six minutes later, Germany got a free kick just outside the penalty area as Fabio Cannavaro fouled Lukas Podolski, but Michael Ballack struck over and wide.

Klinsmann brought on David Odonkor in the 83rd minute, taking off Bernd Schneider. In previous matches, Odonkor had been an inspiration for Germany in the second half.

Perrotta has a chance to break the deadlock in the 86th minute, but Jens Lehmann came just in time to punch away. The goalkeeper also took down Perrotta, who was however able to continue.

No more big chances occured in the remainder of the second half, and extra time was needed to decide who would move on to the final.

EXTRA TIME

In the very first minute of extra time, Alberto Gilardino almost opened the score. The striker got past several defenders and then hit the near post from close range.

And a minute later, it was Zambrotta to try his luck with a distance shot but his effort hit the crossbar as Germany were once again fortunate.

Lippi had already brought on Iaquinta at the start of extra time, and near the end of the first fifteen minutes, he also added Alessandro Del Piero for Simone Perrotta.

Just before the half-time whistle in extra time, Lukas Podolski had an opportunity to put Germany in the lead, but his header from an Odonkor cross went wide.

In the 111th minute, World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose came off for Oliver Neuville.

Not much later, the Italians could have scored as several Azzurri found themselves in front of the goal with the ball in the middle, but Lehmann did well to avoid damage.

And in the following attack, Germany had a good opportunity as well. It ended with Podolski launching a shot on goal, but Buffon made a good save.

With seven minutes to go, Lehmann looked shaky as the Arsenal keeper left his goal for no apparent reason. Del Piero had a chance to shoot but missed the target.

The match continued to be entertainment, even in the last ten minutes of extra time, as neither team seemed to want a penalty shoot-out.

Andrea Pirlo shot on goal in the 118th minute, and Lehmann needed to stretch to prevent the AC Milan playmaker from scoring the winning goal.

0-1 Fabio Grosso 119th minute

But a minute later, it did happen for Italy as a great through ball from Pirlo found defender Fabio Grosso, who beautifully struck into the left corner to set the score to 0-1 with a minute to go.

0-2 Alessandro Del Piero 121st minute

And after another two minutes, Alessandro Del Piero added another to completely decide the match. The striker was at the end of an Italian counter-attack, and struck past Lehmann for 0-2.

The full-time whistle then sounded, and Italy booked their place in the final while the hosts were left empty-handed.