Italy's heart still beating, Azzurri in the quarter finals

At their third attempt, Italy got what they wanted: they beat France, won their first Euro 2008 and got through to the quarter finals all at the same time, thanks also to Holland's win over Rumania in the other Group C game.

It was a lucky Tuesday the 17th for the Azzurri. In Zurich, the same teams that played the 2008 World Cup final in Germany faced off and the match went well from the start. First Ribery had to go off injured, and then Abidal committed a foul on Toni: Pirlo converted the penalty and the defender was sent off, with former Juve player Boumsong coming on to fill the gap in defence. Up one goal, Italy controlled the match and Chiellini had to do his best to contain an unstoppable Thierry Henry.

All went well in the second half too. Knowing that Holland had now scored gave new enthusiasm to the Azzurri, who got the second thanks to De Rossi: his free kick hit the back of the net due to Henry's unlucky deflection. Camoranesi came on the pitch and Captain Buffon confirmed himself as the star of the team with a great save on Benzema.

This was the last thrill of the match (thanks also to Holland's second goal against Rumania), and Italy can now focus on the quarter finals, where they will find one of the best teams seen at these Euro 2008 championships: Spain.
*juventus.com