Date: 17-06-2008
Stage: first round
Place: ZURICH
Running time: 120 min.
Colour: PAL
Quality: DVD
Commentary: italian
My rating: ***
Notes: Pirlo
MATCH SUMMARY
Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 20:45
Letzigrund, Zurich
Attendance: 30,585
Meteo: Moderately cloudy, mild, 15 °C
ITALY
Gianluigi Buffon (c)
Giorgio Chiellini
Fabio Grosso
Christian Panucci
Gianluca Zambrotta
Daniele De Rossi
Gennaro Gattuso
Simone Perrotta
Antonio Cassano
Andrea Pirlo
Luca Toni
Coach: Roberto Donadoni (ITA)
45′ Giorgio Chiellini
45′ Andrea Pirlo
54′ Gennaro Gattuso
55′ ↓Andrea Pirlo ↑Massimo Ambrosini
64′ ↓Simone Perrotta ↑Mauro Camoranesi
82′ ↓Gennaro Gattuso ↑Alberto Aquilani
FRANCE
Grégory Coupet
Eric Abidal
Francois Clerc
Patrice Evra
William Gallas
Claude Makélélé
Franck Ribéry
Jérémy Toulalan
Karim Benzema
Sidney Govou
Thierry Henry (c)
Coach: Raymond Domenech (FRA)
18′ Patrice Evra
24′ Eric Abidal
47′ Sidney Govou
72′ Jean-Alain Boumsong
10′ ↓Franck Ribéry ↑Samir Nasri
26′ ↓Samir Nasri ↑Jean-Alain Boumsong
66′ ↓Sidney Govou ↑Nicolas Anelka
Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)
Goals:
25′ Andrea Pirlo ITA
62′ Daniele De Rossi ITA
Match overview
Italy secured top spot in Group C with a commanding 2-0 win over hosts France. The game’s turning point came early when Eric Abidal was sent off for a foul on Luca Toni, and Andrea Pirlo expertly converted the resulting penalty. Despite playing with ten men, France couldn’t recover, and Daniele De Rossi added a second with a long-range strike. The win emphasized Italy’s tactical discipline and sealed France’s early exit from Euro 2008.
Trivia
This victory marked Italy’s first win over France in a major tournament since the 1978 World Cup. Abidal’s sending-off made him the third French player ever to be dismissed at a European Championship. Pirlo and Gattuso’s bookings meant both were suspended for Italy’s quarter-final clash.
