Italy just about managed to scrape through their first Group 8 qualifying match thanks to a double strike by Antonio Di Natale. The Udinese man gave the Azzurri the lead before Aloneftis levelled. However, it was Toto’, who popped up right at the death, with the winner. Goal.com rates the players on show.

Cyprus

Giorgallidis- 7.5: The shot stopper made some great saves to deny Alberto Gilardino in the first half. He couldn’t do much about Di Natale’s strikes however. Always alert and looked comfortable otherwise.

Nikolau- 6.5: Was always on hand to marshall the backline and ensure that nothing came through. However, his play was dirty at times and he was rightly booked.

Charalambous- 7.5: An excellent showing from the number three. He was constantly up and down the pitch and he should have won the game for his side late on. An accomplished performance and he had Luca Toni shackled.

Christou- 7.0: The small but built stopper worked non stop and he was always ready to interrupt and make life difficult for the Italians. Could have done better later in the match.

Garposiz- 5.0: His challenges were poor and late for most of the game. At times he risked being sent off with some nasty two foot challenges. It’s a miracle Daniele De Rossi wasn’t seriously injured.

Makridis- 5.5: Never really got into his stride but his passing did cause a few problems at the back for Italy. He could have done better in front of goal and missed a great chance in the first half.

Charalambides- 6.0: Controlled the middle of the park and he was always ready to help in defence. His passing was top notch but he could have been more alert when moving forwards.

Michail- 6.5: Was excellent in the first half but then he let his head down a little in the second. Showed great vision and trickery on the ball and he almost stunned Buffon with a long range strike from distance.

Aloneftis- 8.0: Arguably the most dangerous player on the pitch in Lanarca. Was a constant threat to the Azzurri and he got the stadium and adrenaline pumping when he equalised for his side on thirty minutes. Had countless chances and should have scored more.

Okkas- 6.0: Always looking for the slick move and his shooting was good. He tried too hard at times and maybe the easier pass rather than the selfish run would have been better. Was replaced by Pavlou on 73 minutes.

Kostantinou- 6.5: The hit-man was fairly quiet on the night but he did show glimpses of magic every now and then. He could have scored a couple had it not been for an outstanding Buffon.

Subs: Yiasouni 5.5, Christofi 5.0, Pavlou 4.5.

Italy:

Buffon- 8.5: Was superb for Italy all night and it’s little wonder as to why he is the World’s greatest shot-stopper. His saves stopped Cyprus but more importantly prevented the score line from turning nasty. Simply awesome.

Zambrotta- 6.5: Unfortunately he is not the Zambro of 2006. He struggled to get going and at times he looked lost. However, he made up for it by keeping things organised as the game progressed.

Gamberini- N/A: The defender was injured in the first minute and was replaced by Barzagli. The Wolfsburg defender receives a poor 4.5. He was awful all game and he just didn’t perform to the standard expected.

Cannavaro- 6.5: Made his return from injury and he did what he could. Had to work extra hard because he was let down by some of his team mates. Showed glimpses of the Muro Di Berlino he was during the 2006 tournament.

Grosso- N/A: Grosso receives no vote because like Gamberini, he was also injured early on. Cassetti scores 4.0. He replaced the Lyon man but Lippi must be wondering why on earth he choose him. Was very poor all game and his serious error of judgement allowed Cyprus right back into the game.

Camoranesi- 7.0: The Juventus midfielder was a constant threat down the right wing and his dancing runs and crosses were always dangerous. Pinpoint passing and some silky skills ensured his side were always able to attack.

Pirlo- 7.0: Ran the midfield and his passing was second to none. He could have showed more determination to lead but overall it was a typical Pirlo performance.

De Rossi- 6.5: The Roma man worked hard all night and he made some decent challenges to win possession several times. He linked up well with Di Natale on the right and he was also making his presence felt up front. Tried a cheeky lob which would have been goal of the season had it gone in.

Di Natale- 9.0: Udinese’s hero last weekend, the country’s saviour on the night. A sublime performance by the Napolitan hit-man. Never stopped running all game and his two goals were out of the top draw. He popped up right at the death to steal the points. What a difference he makes to the side.

Toni- 4.5: The Bayern Munich hit-man just cannot cut the mustard anymore for Italy. He was woeful all night and he kept on getting mixed up with Gilardino in the middle. A poor showing overall.

Gilardino- 5.5: Fared better than Toni but not by much however. Was never really dangerous on the night and his finishing just wasn’t up to scratch. He will be hoping to have another go when Italy play Georgia next week.

Subs:

Gattuso- 6.5: Came on for Toni and did a great job in midfield. Hungry, Eager and always ready to close down, win possession and get on with it.

Ref From Goal.com

It’s the Derby of the Alps all over again, except this time both Italy and France know even a win might not be enough to stay in Euro 2008.

The rivalry between these two sides has sky-rocketed over the past few years with France’s Golden Goal victory in the Euro 2000 Final and revenge from the penalty spot in Berlin. They have met twice since that World Cup decider, the Azzurri losing 3-1 in Paris and scraping a 0-0 draw at San Siro.

Both teams still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, but are equally likely to crash out of the competition. If Romania beat an already-qualified Holland in the other Group C game, then the result in Zurich will be purely academic. However, if the Dutch continue their current form then the winner of this clash will go through to the next phase. Italy have another option, as due to their superior head-to-head record in terms of goals scored, a score draw with France and Romania’s defeat will see Roberto Donadoni through the Group of Death with a grand total of two points.

It’s not quite the situation everyone envisaged when the draw placed France and Italy together for the final match, but Holland have swept both aside with 4-1 and 3-0 scorelines respectively. Romania proved tough nuts to crack too, although the Nazionale can be boosted by a much better performance in Friday’s 1-1 draw. Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo apologised for incorrectly disallowing Luca Toni’s goal, but for all that it was only a Christian Panucci tap-in and late Gianluigi Buffon penalty save from Adrian Mutu that kept them in the competition this far.

It is worrying that Italy’s only goal has been scored by a defender, so Donadoni is tempted to again reshuffle his squad. Having already changed five from the starting XI that lost to Holland, Alessandro Del Piero now finds himself threatened by the on form Antonio Cassano. Alberto Aquilani is also pushing for a midfield spot after Simone Perrotta was fielded in an unusually deep position against Romania. The defence seems to be confirmed now with Panucci and Giorgio Chiellini giving up their usual full-back roles to shore up the central defence between the marauding Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso, the latter facing some of his Olympique Lyonnais teammates.

France boss Raymond Domenech fully lived up to his ‘provocateur’ reputation by musing that “the Romania result is already written” and he might field “the youngsters in this game so they can gain experience.” For all the talk of a futile gesture, he never likes to lose, especially against Italy. “This is like a derby for me now,” grinned the controversial figure.

Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira might be back from injury, though William Gallas is now struggling with an ankle problem. Former Juventus and Parma defender Lilian Thuram admits he had a nightmare against Holland, but is eager to prove he’s still in good shape.

In attack Samir Nasri has been consistently sharp in training and could finally get a start in support of Thierry Henry with both Karim Benzema and Bafetimbi Gomis disappointing so far. If Domenech does indeed go for a younger line-up, then former Under-21 internationals Sidney Govou, Lassana Diarra and the often ignored Manchester United man Patrice Evra could get a look-in.

Key clash: Fabio Grosso v Franck Ribery
It’s a tasty battle down that flank between The Flamingo and Scarface, one that was already seen in 2006. Grosso came out the winner that day and with his current form will be hoping to make it a Double. “Fabio is my great friend, but I am always explaining to my colleagues that they must not let him get to the byeline,” warned goalkeeper and Lyon teammate Gregory Coupet. “We nicknamed him Monsieur Prope (a French Mr Sheen, ndr), as he has a magic left foot and always serves perfectly clean assists. Great scoring opportunities are bound to be sparked from his feet.” With Ribery often France’s strongest attacking threat, it’ll be a real tussle to see them charge up and down that wing covering and pushing in turns.

Italian connection:
There are so many French stars with links to their neighbouring nation, from ex-Juventus figures Lilian Thuram, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Thierry Henry to current Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira and Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey. Even Patrice Evra started his career with Serie C outfit Marsala. Fabio Grosso shared the recent Lyon title with Gregory Coupet, Boumsong, Francois Clerc, Sebastien Squillaci, Jeremy Toulalan, Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou, while Luca Toni celebrated Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga triumph with Franck Ribery and Willy Sagnol.

Did You Know..?
Even with the 2006 victory on penalties, Italy have not beaten France within the 90 minutes since a 2-1 result in the 1978 World Cup. Their latest European Championship encounter was the Euro 2000 Final on July 2, won by David Trezeguet’s Golden Goal. The only survivors from that game are Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, Massimo Ambrosini and Alessandro Del Piero.

Referee Lubos Michel was also officiating the most recent meeting, a 0-0 qualifying draw at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The other Group B game was a 3-1 thrashing in Paris, Sidney Govou scoring twice with Thierry Henry and Alberto Gilardino’s lone reply.

Including shoot-outs, the record now stands at 18 Azzurri victories, nine France wins and eight stalemates.

Holland inflicted the heaviest ever European Championship defeat on both these teams in Euro 2008. Italy had never previously lost a tie 3-0 in this tournament, while France were hammered 4-1.

With two games of the competition gone, both World Cup Finalists have an identical record so far – one point, one goal scored and four conceded.

Roberto Donadoni’s men tested out the Letzigrund Stadion in Zurich earlier this year by beating Portugal 3-1 in a 6 February friendly. Luca Toni, Fabio Cannavaro and Fabio Quagliarella were on target.
France (probable): Coupet; Sagnol, Thuram, Gallas, Evra; Ribery, Makelele, Toulalan, Malouda; Nasri, Henry

Italy (probable): Buffon; Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellini, Grosso; Camoranesi, Pirlo, De Rossi, Aquilani; Cassano, Toni

Ref: Michel (Slk)

Ref From channel4.com

An unlucky Italy got off to a disastrous Euro 2008 start, losing 3-0 to Holland including one extremely controversial Ruud Van Nistelrooy goal. With France’s 0-0 draw against Romania earlier today, the Azzurri prop up the Group C standings and have a damaging goal difference.

The world champions began their Euro 2008 campaign against seeds Holland, a team they had not lost to in 30 years. Their last European Championship meeting was the epic semi-final in 2000, won by the Azzurri on penalties despite Gianluca Zambrotta’s dismissal 34 minutes in. Roberto Donadoni surprised many by leaving Daniele De Rossi on the bench in favour of an all-Milan midfield, while Gianluigi Buffon took the captain’s armband. Holland were missing Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie and Mario Melchiot.

Injured Fabio Cannavaro was given permission to sit on the bench as a non-playing captain, but only because a physiotherapist moved to the stands to keep inside the limits.

Antonio Di Natale’s cross was just a little too fast for Luca Toni to tap in from five yards, then Andrea Barzagli charged down a Ruud Van Nistelrooy effort. Wesley Sneijder’s free kick hit the wall and as the move continued Buffon smothered a hopeful long-range attempt from Rafael Van Der Vaart.

The first major scare came on 17 minutes, as Van Nistelrooy ran on to a Dirk Kuyt through ball, but Buffon did just enough to put him off and the Real Madrid striker went too wide to get the finish into an empty net!

Marco Materazzi risked an own goal as he flicked a Sneijder free kick off the head of Van Nistelrooy at the back post.

Holland took the lead in extremely controversial circumstances. Van Der Vaart’s free kick was punched by Buffon, but only as far as Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, whose shot was redirected from four yards by Van Nistelrooy. He seemed to be clearly offside, but the linesman considered Panucci to be keeping him onside, although he was off the pitch having collided with Buffon. Toni was particularly angry and was booked for dissent.

Italy had a great chance to equalise moments later from an Andrea Pirlo corner kick, but it was cleared off the line by Van Bronckhorst with Edwin Van Der Sar beaten.

However, on the counter-attack the Dutch doubled their advantage with a sensational goal from Sneijder. A long cross-field pass was nodded back into the middle by Kuyt for Sneijder’s right-foot volley between Buffon and the near post. Italy were left wide open as they poured forward to seek an equaliser.

A brilliant Di Natale volley from Camoranesi’s cross went through Khalid Boulahrouz’s legs, but Van Der Sar performed a lucky reaction save. Zambrotta also went into the book for a late tackle on Kuyt.

Camoranesi intercepted a pass from 20 metres, but the through ball could not find Toni. Yet it could’ve been 3-0 on the stroke of half-time when a pass cut out Materazzi to reach Van Nistelrooy and an outstretched Buffon foot deflected it over the bar. Di Natale had another promising opportunity and smashed a shot on the bounce too high to trouble Van Der Sar.

Donadoni made no substitutions, though Gattuso was booked for repeated fouling. Zambrotta ran on to an inspired Pirlo pass, skipped past Kuyt at the byeline and flashed a shot across the face of goal.

Fabio Grosso replaced Materazzi, moving Panucci into central defence and Zambrotta over to right-back in a completely reshuffled back line. Ambrosini dispossessed Nigel De Jong and the Dutchman was booked for hauling back the Milan midfielder to end a potential counter.

Toni couldn’t get enough power on his turn and Pirlo’s ambitious free kick hit the side-netting as Italy began to pile on the pressure. Alessandro Del Piero came off the bench for another tactical adjustment, replacing Di Natale. Within minutes of stepping on to the field, Del Piero shrugged off Andre Ooijer and his right-foot swerver was smothered by former Juventus teammate Van Der Sar.

Del Piero gathered another Pirlo assist and curled just over from a promising angle. Robin Van Persie has been struggling with injury, but replaced Van Nistelrooy for the final 20 minutes. Donadoni gambled all the way to recover from 2-0 and threw on Antonio Cassano for Camoranesi and the dream trident.

A minute after coming on, Cassano’s flicked pass over the top allowed Toni to spring the offside trap, but the Bayern Munich hitman incredibly ballooned his chip over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat.

There was an equally clear chance moments later, as Grosso rode Kuyt’s tackle and his angled drive from eight yards was beaten away on the ground by Van Der Sar, then Del Piero was anticipated before he could tap in.

Yet again the Azzurri knocked at the door, but Van Der Sar performed a stunning save on Pirlo’s free kick into the top corner. But once more Holland struck on the counter-attack to make it 3-0. Buffon did remarkably well to deny the first effort from Kuyt, but could do nothing on a Van Bronckhorst free header that hit Zambrotta on the way in.

The action continued with substitute Afellay’s cheeky cross-shot clipping the crossbar and Van Persie flashed an effort wide as the Italy defence went to sleep. Del Piero had the chance to at least get a consolation goal in stoppages, but it was deflected out for a corner off Toni’s stop.
Holland: Van der Sar; Ooijer, Mathijsen, Bouhlarouz (Heitinga 77), Van Bronckhorst; De Jong, Engelaar; Sneijder, Van Der Vaart, Kuyt (Afellay 81); Van Nistelrooy (Van Persie 70)

Italy: Buffon; Panucci, Materazzi (Grosso 54), Barzagli, Zambrotta; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Camoranesi (Cassano 75), Toni, Di Natale (Del Piero 64)

Ref: Frojdfeldt (Swe)

Ref From channel4.com