Italy brush Ukraine aside 3-0 to reach semi-final

Friday, June 30, 2006

Italy took their chances to take a comfortable win in their Fifa World Cup quarter-final match against Ukraine, Friday.

Gianluca Zambrotta scored the game winner after six minutes and Luca Toni netted a double in the second half to secure a semi-final game with the host nation, Germany.

Zambrotta's early goal for Italy was a 30 yard low hard swinging drive that beat the Ukraine keeper at his near post.

Italy played a very effective counter attack game ceding 58 per cent of possession to Ukraine while they equalled their opponents creativity in front of goal with seven shots on target.

Ukraine played good football in the second period and while they were still one goal down were unlucky not to net an equaliser. They were up against an Italian defence that had conceded just one goal in the tournament - which was an own goal - and was to complete a third consecutive shut out.

On 48 minutes Gianluigi Buffon made a match-winning save from Maksym Kalinichenko. In the process of tipping the downward header onto the post Buffon head-butted the upright.

As Ukraine upped the pressure Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro then made a crucial winning header clearance as Andiry Shevchenko lurked behind.

When Buffon saved again and Zambrotta cleared off the line from Kalinichenko Ukraine coach Oleg Blohkin rued the missed chances. A minute later an Italian attack led to a corner, taken short Totti's near-post ball met a diving Toni and it was suddenly 2-0.

Andriy Gusin then connected with a header and hit the crossbar but though the Ukraine effort was vigorous on the day they did not score.

Ten minutes after Toni's first World Cup goal, Zambrotta dribbled into the penalty area from the left side and passed the ball to Toni who tapped in his second goal from five yards.

An unsung hero of the match was Gennaro Gattuso whose hard work in midfield earned him Fifa's Man of the Match award.

Quarter-finals

Match 58

June 30, 2006 21:00
	Italy	3–0	Ukraine	AOL Arena
	Zambrotta 6' Toni 59' 69'

Attendance: 50'000

Formations

Italy

Right wing	Right	Center	Left	Left wing

		Gianluigi Buffon (GK)
	Fabio Cannavaro (C)		Andrea Barzagli
Gianluca Zambrotta				Fabio Grosso
Mauro Camoranesi		Gennaro Gattuso		Simone Perrotta
		Andrea Pirlo
	Luca toni		Francesco Totti

Substitutes

68' Simone Barone for Pirlo
68' Massimo Oddo for Camoranesi
77' Cristian Zaccardo for Gattuso

Coach: Marcello Lippi

denotes one goal scored.

Ukraine

Right wing	Right	Center	Left	Left wing

		Oleksandr Shovkovskyi (GK)
	Andriy Nesmachnyi	Andriy Rusol	Vyacheslav Sviderskyi 16'
Anatoliy Tymoschuk				Oleg Shelayev
Oleg Gusev		Andriy Gusin		Maksym Kalinichenko 21'

	Andriy Shevchenko (C)		Artem Milevskiy 67'