Italy victory good enough to progress
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E-mail Xinhua, June 19, 2012
Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli scored on Monday to secure victory and put the Azzurri in the last eight of the Euro 2012 tournament, combined with Spain's win over Croatia.
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Antonio Cassano and Andrea Pirlo celebrate Italy's first goal. |
Italy entered the knockout stage as runners-up with the 2-0 victory, while Ireland bowed out with three straight losses in Group C as striker Robbie Keane lamented that "It's a shame the team didn't perform as well as we can. We played well tonight but without creating too many chances either."
"We're disappointed not to get anything out of the group, but we've been beaten by better teams," he added further.
Italy found the net in the 35th minute when AC Milan forward Cassano flicked the ball past Shay Given after meeting Andrea Pirlo's corner at the front post.
Balotelli's late goal in the 90th minute secured the 2-0 victory for Italy and the second place in the group after Spain also struck late on in the 88th minute to seal top spot and eliminated Croatia with a 1-0 victory.
"Tough victories are the most beatiful ones," said Cassano, "We don't fear anybody. The important thing was to qualify, and now the knockout stage starts and we will face anybody."
Keith Andrews of Ireland was booked the second time by Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir in the 89th minute, who also fished out another half a dozen cards with either side being booked thrice.
After the first two rounds, Italy must win their last group match over Ireland in order to keep their hopes alive as they played to two 1-1 ties against both Spain and Croatia in the group.
The Azzurri are next in action on Sunday when they will face the Group D winners in Kyiv.
"(For) our next game ... we need to play with our heart and with generosity like the players did tonight," said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, "We create (chances) a lot tonight, and I hope to do the same when we move to Ukraine."
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