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| Italy Pips Hosts Germany 2-0 to Reach Final |
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In the pulsating and dramatic semifinal duel against hosts Germany here, Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo found defender Fabio Grosso who lashed a spectacular curling shot into the far corner with just one minute to go. Pirlo was named Man of the Match by the FIFA Technical Study Group. With Germans pushing forward desperately for an equalizer, Italy unraveled the German defense again in the last minute when striker Alberto Gilardino set up Alessandro Del Piero on the left before the substitute scored with a clinical finish. The two goals settled the match which had appeared to head for a penalty shootout. "It was tough but we are delighted that we have done it. It is a dream, we have achieved something huge here," said Italy coach Marcello Lippi. There was more drama in the extra time than regular time. Only one minute into the extra time, Gilardino, who replaced Luca Toni in the second half, squeezed into the box on the right, turned past Christoph Metzelder and sent Jens Lehmann the wrong way but his stabbed shot rebounded off the post and trickled away to safety. After only two minutes, a corner was sent to Italian defender
Gianluca Zambrotta outside the area but he lashed a screamer on to
the crossbar. In the second half of extra time, the ball was worked to Podolski on the left. He lined up his shot but Buffon made a great one-handed save pushing the fierce drive over the bar. In the first half, Germany came closest to scoring in the 35th minute when a give-away in the midfield led to Miroslav Klose finding Bernd Schneider open in the area, but his powerful shot flew over the goal. On 42 minutes, Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo's free-kick was right at Mauro Camoranesi, but he could not direct his glancing header on goal. The hosts fortified their attacking from the beginning of the second half. In the 50th minute, Klose dribbled between three Italian defenders, forcing a desperate save from Buffon. Defender Arne Friedrich burst into the area in the 69th minute after a one-two with Michael Ballack, but Marco Materazzi was on hand to end the danger. Totti flicked one to Simone Perrotta who broke into the area all alone in the 86th minute but collided hard with advancing Lehmann. (Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2006) |
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