Friday, 13 June 2008
Day seven of GroundReport’s exclusive on-the-ground coverage of Euro2008.
Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon kept the world champions in the tournament today, saving a Romanian penalty kick that would have guaranteed the Group C underdogs a sure winner in Zurich late in the match.
Fiorentina striker Adrian Mutu had an opportunity to put his country up 2-1 from the spot against an Italian side that needed to avoid a loss in order to stay alive in the tournament. The Italians salvaged a lifeline as a result of today’s draw, though now they look at a must-win decisive fixture Tuesday against a French side that play later today.
The Italians looked much more lively than in their previous match against the Netherlands, when they lost 3-0 on Monday. Both wings took off to the races for the Azurri to send in dangerous crosses into the penalty box for the heads of Del Piero and Toni. The Romanians had other ideas, too, forcing Buffon into action numerous times early in the match. In the 16th minute, Mutu snuck past the Italian back four and sped straight for Buffon on a one-on-one, and only a stretching Then, just two minutes later, Gabriel Sebastian Tamas fired a brilliant free kick from thirty yards out to test Buffon again – a chilling attempt that had the Juventus keeper diving low to his left to push the ball just barely around the up-right.
In the 20th minute, Romanian captain Cristian Chivu fired another free kick toward the Italian goal, a waist-high blazer that deflected off Panucchi in the middle of the box and hit the far up-right before being cleared by Zambrotta. Buffon would have been helpless, caught going the other way. The ensuing challenge for the 50-50 ball saw two Romanians involved in a nasty head-to-head collision, in which one player, Mirel Matai Radoi, had to be carted off the pitch and immediately substituted.
Romanian keeper Bogdan Lobont during one sixty-second stretch was scurrying left and right, throwing his body without hesitation to keep four glorious Itallian aerial shots from hitting the back of his net. Luca Toni nearly pulled one up in this series of Italian threats three minutes into first half stoppage time – only to have his header ruled null for a questionable offsides call.
Then, in the 56th minute, Mutu capitalized on a mental lapse from Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta to put the Romanians up 1-0. Zambrotta, twenty yards in front of his own goal, attempted to head a long Romanian clearance back to Buffon – a routine pass without any pressure – but his pass was too light, and Mutu slipped behind to collect the ensuing ball before the Italian keeper was able to get to it, making sure of his shot by thundering it into the top of the net.
Christian Panucci equalized almost immediately for Italy, however, taking advantage of a corner kick that fellow central defender Giorgio Chiellini squared straight to his feet a yard out from goal.
In the 80th minute, a questionable penalty call from Norweigan referee Tom Henning Ovrebo put Mutu and Buffon again on the spot-light. Panucci was adjudged to have pulled down Daniel Niculae on a Romanian corner kick, but Buffon came out on top to save face for his teammate.
Italy now face a do-or-die situation in their next and final group match against France, a rematch of the 2006 World Cup Final title match. With one point from their last two fixtures, their chances of advancing into the quarterfinals ride on a win and a bit of mathematical luck from other games in the group. The Dutch, with three points, still lead the Group of Death despite having yet to play their second match, and Romania look surprisingly likely to move on as well, with two points in two games and a lot of momentum running for their side.
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