Italy win 3-0 against Ukraine

Italy sent Ukraine home with a 3-0 victory in the quarter finals. In the 6th minute, defender Gianluca Zambrotta tried his luck from the edge of the area with a left-footed drive and found the bottom right corner with keeper Oleksander Shovkovsky unable to palm it round the post. The first half then ended without much action after this goal as the Italians controlled the tempo and left the Ukrainians chasing the ball with with their possession.

In the second half, it was still Italy who dominated the match and they looked more threatening whenever they moved forward. In the 59th minute, they made it 2-0 when Francesco Totti swung in a cross from the left and Toni headed into the bottom left hand corner. It was 3-0 in the 69th minute when Zambrotta burst into the box and his cross created the easiest of tap-ins for Toni's second goal of the night.

Soccer Pundit feels that this match is really no sweat for the Italians as Ukraine did not offer much resistance. Maybe they are not used to the pressure of the knock-out stages as debutants in the World Cup or maybe they are still not good enough. Whatever it is, they were second best in all aspects. Shevchenko once again took on the role of a passenger as he did not threaten the Italian defence at all. For a player of his class and for spending most of his career in the Italian league, one would have expected him to treat this as just another Italian defence which he is so used to tormenting while playing for AC Milan.

Unfortunately, he did not rise to the occassion (to be fair, the service was also lacking). If Soccer Pundit has a say, Shevchenko could have been substituted in the second half for fresh options that can put more pressure on the Italians. However, therein lies the misery of the Ukrainians, they have a weak bench and there is just no viable option for Shev even if he is not playing well.

To judge Italy's championship form based on this match would be inaccurate as Ukraine is not a world class opponent and some people may even dobut their place in the quarter finals. While it is true that Italy has not met any favorites yet which can really test them, they have proven without a doubt the strength of their defence and the superb form of their goalkeeper Buffon.

One gets a feeling that any of the favorites will have to give due respect to the impregnable Italian defence and chances of breaking it down in normal or extra time would require an extraordinary team and luck. They do have a weakness and it is their track record in penalty shootouts which includes many disappointments from past tournaments. Against Germany who have a solid record on penalties, Italy's tendency to bank on their defence may backfire. They will need to attack and hopefully score an early goal.