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.

AOL Arena, Hamburg.

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' 

Substitutes

  • 20' Andriy Vorobey for Sviderskyi
  • 47'+ Vladyslav Vashchuk for Andriy Rusol
  • 72' Oleksiy Belik for Milevskiy

Coach: Oleg Blohkin

  denotes one goal scored.

Officials

  Referee: Frank De Bleeckere   

  Assistant referee: Peter Hermans

  Assistant referee: Walter Vromans

  Fourth referee: Toru Kawikawa

  Fifth referee: Yoshikazu Hiroshima

Germany master penalties to beat Argentina to semi-final spot

Sources

 


This article is about the 2006 World Cup; for more World Cup news visit the World Cup portal.