GERMANY 0 - 2 a.e.t. ITALY

GERMANY 0-2 a.e.t. ITALY
4 July 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com

German dreams of reaching the FIFA World Cup™ Final died in Dortmund as two goals in the final moments of extra time carried Italy into the Final as 2-0 semi-final winners on Tuesday, 4 July 2006.
With a penalty shoot-out looming, Fabio Grosso broke the deadlock in the 119th minute as he curled a left-footed shot past the despairing dive of Jens Lehmann from the right side of the penalty box. Substitute Alessandro Del Piero made sure of Italy's place in the Final when he beat Lehmann from close range in added time at the end of the extra period.

Italy now advance to their first FIFA World Cup Final since 1994 and their sixth overall. They will face the winners of Wednesday's Portugal-France semi-final in Berlin's Olympiastadion on Sunday, 24 hours after Germany have contested third place with the losers of that match in Stuttgart.


The match:
5’: In a quick-paced, keenly-contested opening to this match, the first effort on goal came from the Italians, with Francesco Totti firing in a 30-yard free-kick that skipped up off the wall and, with Germans hearts in mouths, landed in the arms of a grateful Jens Lehmann.

8’: Terrific close control from Miroslav Klose helped create Germany’s first chance of the match, with Lukas Podolski picking up from his strike partner and teeing up Michael Ballack for a right-shoot shot that swerved wide of the right-hand post.

12’:With the atmosphere electric inside the FIFA World Cup Stadium Dortmund, Germany gave their fans yet more to cheer with a sharp attack that ended with Podolski rifling in a powerful shot well blocked by the ever-reliable Fabio Cannavaro.

16’: Having played some neat possession football in the opening quarter-of-an-hour, Italy carved out their first opportunity of note when a defence-splitting Totti pass sent Simone Perrotta racing in on goal. The Roma midfielder’s touch was heavy enough, however, to allow Lehmann to race alertly from his goal and smother at the on-rushing Italian's feet.

29’: Italy again went close, this time with a well-worked free-kick that saw Mauro Camoranesi tee up Totti for a right-foot shot that looked to be heading for the net before it was blocked by the massed ranks of German defenders.

34’: A glorious opportunity went a-begging for the hosts after Klose threaded through Bernd Schneider, unmarked and bearing down on goal on the right-hand edge of the box. The in-form midfielder’s shot didn’t lack for power, either, but it fizzed over the crossbar, albeit by no more than a few inches. The German fans responded by raising the decibel level yet further.

41’: Italy, having weathered a storm of German attacks, began to create some half-chances of their own, the best of which saw Camoranesi head just over from an inviting, outswinging Andrea Pirlo free-kick.

50’: The hosts began the second half at a remarkable tempo and Klose, in typically dynamic, positive fashion, bulldozed his way through the heart of Italy’s defence only to be denied by the bravery of Buffon, who dived to save at the striker’s feet.

51’: Play immediately flowed to the other end, where an incisive through ball from Perrotta picked out Grosso, who had run from deep to spring the German offside trap. However, the full-back then appeared to be caught in two minds as he found himself in unfamiliar territory, and with the goal at his mercy, he delayed pulling the trigger long enough to allow Lehmann to swoop in and make the save.

61’: Podolski created a chance out of nothing, turning Materazzi inside-out to leave himself with a clear shot of goal, eight yards out. His shot was well struck, but for the umpteenth time at Germany 2006, Buffon came to Italy’s rescue with a superb reflex save. From the rebound, Arne Friedrich blazed over, and another glorious chance had passed the hosts by.

73’: Having watched his side dominate the second half, but appear to run out of ideas in the final third, Jurgen Klinsmann reversed the change he made to his starting line-up by bringing off Tim Borowski and putting on the more attack-minded Bastian Schweinsteiger.

78’: A long period of inactivity for both goalkeepers ended when Lehmann was called upon to deal with a speculative long-range effort from Pirlo, a task he performed with impressive self-assurance.

82’: Michael Ballack wasted a promisingly-positioned free-kick, curling high and wide from the edge of the penalty area after Cannavaro was adjudged to have fouled Podolski. Seconds later, Klinsmann attempted to inject pace into his team’s attacking play by thrusting on David Odonkor in place of Schneider.

85’: Perrotta looked to have broken clear of the German defence with a perfectly-timed run, but Lehmann was smartly off his line and took no prisoners as he confidently fisted the ball to safety.

Extra-time
91’: Within a minute of extra-time kicking off, Alberto Gilardino came closer than anyone before to breaking the deadlock. Bursting in from the right, he made his way to the byline before jinking back on to his left foot and squeezing in a shot that beat Lehmann only to come back off the inside of the keeper’s left-hand post. Germany breathed again.

92’: Less than 60 seconds later, a corner was only half-cleared and Italy rattled the woodwork for the second time in a minute, with Gianluca Zambrotta smacking in a sweetly-struck 20-yard drive that left the crossbar shuddering on its way over.

105’: With the last touch of the first half of extra-time, Podolski spurned a glorious opportunity, heading wide Odonkor’s cross from a terrific position, unmarked, 10 yards from goal.

108’: Neither side was settling for penalty kicks and, after substitute Vicenzo Iaquinta had nearly burst through on goal at one end, Phillip Lahm curled just wide from 20 yards at the other.

111’: An incredible moment of tension appeared to pass in slow motion as another Italy substitute, Del Piero, found himself faced with Lehmann but just couldn’t find the angle to squeeze the ball home.

112’: Germany then swept immediately to the other end, where Podolski, on the left-hand edge of the penalty box, forced a magnificent one-handed tip-over from Buffon.

114’: With the action now more entertaining that at any stage of the match, some neat built-up play in and around the German box ended with Del Piero hooking a disappointing right-foot shot wide of the far post from 20 yards.

116’: With the seconds ticking down to a penalty shoot-out, Odonkor surged forward and tried his luck from distance, but his sliced right-foot shot flashed well wide of Buffon's left-hand post.

118’: Pirlo drifted in from the right and forced a superb save from Lehmann with a ferocious left-foot shot from 25 yards.

119’: The German keeper could only divert the ball round the post, however, and from the resultant corner, Pirlo gathered possession at the edge of the box and teed up Grosso for a superb first-time left-foot shot that curled just inside the far post.

120+1’: As the hosts pushed desperately for an equaliser, a slick and speedy Italian breakaway ended with Gilardino playing a sublime reverse pass into the path of Del Piero. Opening out his body, the Juventus striker’s finish was nothing short of perfect, with the ball sent arcing into the postage stamp corner. Italy were through.

In conclusion
Only a couple of superbly-executed Italian goals could separate these two very evenly-matched teams on a night of high drama in Dortmund. Once again, Marcello Lippi’s side defended magnificently and the superb Gianluigi Buffon has still to concede a goal at Germany 2006 from an opposition player. However, while it is the Azzurri who march on to the Final, Germany - beaten in Dortmund for the first time ever - can reflect on their FIFA World Cup™ campaign with pride, having played throughout with spirit and skill in abundance.