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Final
Italy 1-1 Romania
Half: 0-0
Goals
  0-1A. Mutu55'
56'C. Panucci1-1  
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Italy v Romania
Time Commentary
93' FULL TIME
Italy face an early exit from Euro 2008 after being held to a 1-1 draw by Romania. This was an absolute rip-roarer of a game, with both sides creating a hatful of chances in a 90 minutes that was packed full of incident and end-to-end action. Italy had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside during a first half when Romania also hit the post. In the second period Romania took the lead through a fantastic finish from Mutu after a mistake from Zambrotta had sent the striker clean through, but Italy equalised just seconds later through a Panucci tap-in. However the best drama was saved for last, when the Italian goal-scorer gave away a penalty that was superbly saved by Buffon, as Mutu missed the opportunity to knock out the World Champions. What an afternoon of football! It finished Italy 1-1 Romania, a result the will please Romania far more than the Italians.
92' OVER THE BAR
Tamas has a pop from distance, but his effort was always rising and went over the bar. That was probably the last chance for one of these two sides to claim the winner.
91' DIVE IN THE BOX
Italian players are dropping like flies in an attempt to earn a penalty, but once again the ref is having none of it.
90' NO PENALTY
Quagliarella claims for a penalty but the decision was offside against the Italian and it wasn't a foul in any case.
88' SUBSTITUTION
A devastated Mutu is replaced by Cocis as Romania look to have settled for the draw.
86' DESPERATE DEFENDING
Toni claims that he was dragged down in the box, but the decision went the other way... and rightly so.
85' TESTING CROSS
Cassano fires in a great cross from the left, but it evades everybody and goes out for a goal-kick. The fiery Italian has been impressive since he came on.
84' SUBSTITUTION
Ambrosini comes on for Camoranesi to add some fresh legs to the Italy midfield.
80' PENALTY SAVE!!!
Buffon produces an amazing save, using a combination of hands and feet to keep out Mutu's penalty! What a game!
79' PENALTY
Panucci gives away a penalty as he drags down a Romanian striker in the box. What a chance for an upset!
76' SUBSTITUTION
Del Piero is replaced by Quagliarella as Italy try to change things round.
75' GOOD SAVE
Lobont produced another top save to keep his side in it! What a great game the Romanian 'keeper is having!
73' OVER THE LINE
Lobont claimed a cross but stumbled and the Italian players are convinced that the 'keeper carried the ball over the line. Replays show that he didn't.
71' FANTASTIC FOOTBALL
Romania produced their best move of the tournament so far and Dica almost finished it off, but the ball in was dealt with by the Italian defence.
69' NEARLY THE SECOND!
Niculae almost had a tap in but was denied by the last Italian defender after Dica's shot had been deflected.
67' TENSE ATMOSPHERE
The crowd is lively but there's definitely a tense feeling in the small stadium, with Italy really needing a win.
64' BAD CALL
Toni is once again adjudged to be offside when it looked like he was on. This time however it's unlikely that the striker would have found the net, as Lobont seemed to have forced the striker wide.
62' GREAT CHANCE!
Toni finds a gap between the two central defenders but just can't quite stretch out one of those long legs to tap Del Piero's through-ball past Lobont.
60' YELLOW CARD
Pirlo picks up a booking as Italy get caught on the break. Both sides look like they could score again.
59' SUBSTITUTION
Petre is replaced by Nicolita just a minute after wasting that great chance for Romania.
58' GREAT CHANCE
Petre had time and space on the edge of the area but his shot was charged down when he should have done better.
56' SUBSTITUTION
The ineffective Perrotta is replaced by the Italian bad-boy Cassano.
55' GOOAALL!!!
Panucci equalises for Italy just seconds after Mutu had given Romania the lead. Pirlo's corner was struck back across the goal and Panucci was on the far post to tap the ball home. It's 1-1!
54' GOOAALL!!!
Romania take the lead! Zambrotta attempted a header back to his 'keeper, but Mutu was sharp to the chance and nipped in to hammer the ball past a helpless Buffon and into the top corner! 1-0 to Romania!
52' SWERVING SHOT
Mutu curls in a testing shot that bounced in front of Buffon and almost beat the Italian 'keeper.
50' HESITANCY COSTS ITALY
Toni heads the ball down to Del Piero, but the ageing star dallied on the ball and had the ball taken away from him before he could pull the trigger.
47' FLAPPING 'KEEPER
Pirlo somehow wriggles away from two defenders and curls in a cross, which Lobont flaps at and misses. Thankfully for the Romanian 'keeper, his presence put off Toni who couldn't make contact to flick the ball home.
46' SECOND HALF
The teams are out and the game's back underway. Let's hope that this half is as good as the first!
45' HALF TIME
The ref's whistle goes to bring an end to a scintillating and action-packed first half. The Italians have had the pick of the chances and should probably have been ahead, only to be denied by a questionable offside decision, but Romania have had chances too, most notably when Chivu's deflected shot struck the post. It's been a barn-stormer of a game and the only thing that's missing is a goal. At half time it's Italy 0-0 Romania.
45' NO GOOAALL!!!
Two minutes into stoppage time and Toni pokes the ball home... but the linesman's flag was raised to rule out the goal. That looks like a slightly dubious decision.
43' YELLOW CARD
Mutu picks up the opening booking of the game for a late challenge.
40' SO CLOSE!
Italy almost bundle the ball in again, only for Lobont to somehow clear the ball through a scrum of players. This game has turned out to be an absolute stormer! It's hard to believe it's still 0-0.
39' TOP SAVE
Toni connects with Pirlo's corner and it looks like his header is destined for the top corner... until Lobont produces a stunning save and tips the ball past the post.
38' ANOTHER SCRAMBLE
Perrotta almost bundles the ball in after a knock-down from Toni but it goes for a corner to the Italians.
37' UNUSUAL MISTAKE
The usually assured Mutu lets the ball run under his foot and gifts possession back to Italy.
34' WASTED OPPORTUNITY
Mutu had the chance to thread a ball through the re-jigged Italian back-line, but his pass was a poor one and the attack petered out.
32' WAY OVER THE BAR
Del Piero lined up a free-kick in a fantastic position, but his effort was always rising and troubled the fans behind the goal more than Lobont, the Romanian 'keeper.
30' WASTED EFFORT
Pirlo had the opportunity to whip in a testing cross from out wide, but his delivery was poor and the Romanian defenders easily dealt with the danger.
27' FIZZING EFFORT
Rat, who's making his 50th appearance for Romania today, has a go from distance and his fizzing shot very nearly beats Buffon, only to whiz just past the post. What a great effort!
26' JUST WIDE!
Toni meets Zambrotta's cross but can only steer his header wide of the post! This is an absolute cracker-jack of a game!
25' INCHES AWAY
Del Piero almost latches onto a ball from Grosso but just can't get on the end of it.
24' SUBSTITUTION
Dica comes on for Radoi who was clearly unfit to continue.
22' WORRYING INJURY
Two Romanian players collide in the air and land face first! Radoi has to be stretchered off with what looks like a serious facial injury. Fingers crossed that he's ok.
19' OFF THE POST!
Chivu drives in a free-kick which takes a deflection, beats Buffon all-ends-up, and cannons back off the post! How close can you get!
17' GOOD EFFORT
Tamas drives in a low effort from the free-kick which had Buffon sprawling to tip the ball away.
16' DANGER ON THE BREAK
Mutu, who plies his trade in Italy for Fiorentina, looks lively today and wins his side a free-kick in a dangerous area.
14' MUTU GOES CLOSE
Mutu breaks clear of the defence on the break but was a bit too wide for his shot to really test Buffon.
11' ITALIAN FLAIR
The changes seem to have worked for Italy as they look far more creative, with Del Piero causing havoc in the hole behind Toni.
8' SIDE-NETTING
Del Piero almost scrambles the ball into the net on two separate occasions but just can't squeeze it in. The ref signals for a goal-kick when it should clearly have been a corner, which infuriates the Italian captain.
6' GLIMPSE OF A CHANCE
Mutu loses his defender and almost gets onto the end of a great long-ball from Tamas, but just can't get a toe on it to poke the ball past the 'keeper. That should act as an early wake-up-call for the Italians.
5' ITALIAN PRESSURE
Zambrotta has been particularly impressive in the early stages and another marauding run results in a corner, but it's easily cleared by the Romanian defenders.
3' EARLY OFFSIDE
Mutu shows an early spark but delayed his pass too long and the offside flag was raised.
1' WE'RE OFF
The anthems have been sung in this small yet atmospheric stadium and the game's underway.
0' ROMANIA
Romania's coach, Victor Piturca has made two changes, both in midfield, with Codrea and Petre given the role of hitting the Italians on the break in place of the hard-working duo of Cocis and Nicolita. Only time will tell if the tactic pays off, but don't expect a change of policy from the Romanians, even though they may break in greater numbers, they are still likely to defend with 10 men behind the ball!
0' ITALY
Donadoni has decided to ring the changes for Italy after the oldest starting line-up in the history of the European Championships produced a rather predictable performance against the Dutch. The Italy manager has made five changes in all, with Grosso, Chiellini, Perrotta, De Rossi and the mercurial Del Piero replacing Barzagli, Materazzi, Ambrosini, Gattuso and Di Natale.
0' QUALIFICATION PERMUTATIONS
An Italian defeat will see them crash out of the tournament at the group stage for the third time out of the last four European Championships, but Donadoni's side really need to win as a draw would leave them heavily reliant on other results going their way if they are to qualify for the latter stages. Romania picked up a handy point against the French in their opening game and would be more than happy with the same again this afternoon, meaning that a win in their final game would all-but guarantee their progress into the latter stages. A win for Romania would not only be a massive upset, causing the Italians to crash out, but would also pile enormous pressure on the French to get a result against the in-form Dutch. These should be an interesting couple of games!
0' BIG MATCH PREVIEW
Group C, the Group of Death, heads into its second round of games today with both of the two World Cup finalists, Italy and France, in perilous positions after disappointing results in their respective opening matches. The opening game of the day sees Italy take on a gutsy, well-organised Romanian side that stifled the French so effectively and will look to do the same to an Italian side that cannot dare lose. The World Champions will feel confident of victory as they haven't lost to the Romanians since 1989, a game in which manager Roberto Donadoni played for Italy, but the chances of this being a thriller don't look high; of the teams that have played 10 or more games in European Championship history, nobody has a less impressive goals per game ratio than the Romanians, while the Italians are not far behind. However, past performances may count for nought, as the Italians will be going all out for a win, which could well play into the hands of the counter-attacking system of the Romanians. It's a hard one to call, but even if it's not an end-to-end thriller it should be a fascinating tactical confrontation.
Commentary  |  Team Stats  |  Player Stats
Teams
ItalyRomania
Gianluigi Buffon
Christian Panucci
Massimo Ambrosini
Andrea Pirlo
Simone Perrotta
Luca Toni
Fabio Grosso
Daniele De Rossi
Fabio Quagliarella
Gianluca Zambrotta
Antonio Cassano
Alessandro Del Piero
Mauro German Camoranesi
Giorgio Chiellini
Bogdan Lonut Lobont
Adrian Mutu
Cristian Chivu
Paul Constantin Codrea
Daniel Niculae
Cosmin Marius Contra
Gabriel Tamas
Dorin Goian
Mirel Matei Radoi
Banel Nicolita
Nicolae Dica
Razvan Rat
Razvan Cocis
Florentin Petre
Substitution
58' - Cassano
 - Perrotta
77' - Quagliarella
 - Del Piero
85' - Ambrosini
 - Camoranesi
Dica - 25'
Radoi - 
Nicolita - 60'
Petre - 
Cocis - 88'
Mutu - 
Yellow Cards
 Pirlo (61')
 De Rossi (90')
 
Mutu (44')  
Chivu (58')  
Goian (73')  
ItalyTeam StatsRomania
1 Goals 1
1 Assists 0
13 Shots 14
6 Shots on Goal 6
5 Saves 5
0 Penalties Scored 0
0 Penalty Kicks 1
33 Crosses 11
12 Corner Kicks 5
6 Offsides 4
12 Fouls Committed 21
2 Cautions/Yellow Cards 3
0 Red Cards 0
Commentary  |  Team Stats  |  Player Stats
Italy
  GA SHT SHT-OG Svs SPct PKF PKS YC RC
G. Buffon 1 13 5 4 80.0 1 1 0 0
  SUB G Ast SHTS SOG SOG% CK CR FC FS Off YC RC
M. Ambrosini +86 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
G. Buffon 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
M. Camoranesi -86 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 1 3 0 0 0
A. Cassano +59 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 0 2 0 0 0
G. Chiellini 0 1 1 0 0.0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
A. Del Piero -78 0 0 3 0 0.0 3 1 1 3 2 0 0
D. De Rossi 0 0 1 1 100.0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
F. Grosso 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 1 1 0 0 0
C. Panucci 1 0 1 1 100.0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0
S. Perrotta -59 0 0 1 1 100.0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
A. Pirlo 0 0 1 0 0.0 5 4 1 5 0 1 0
F. Quagliarella +78 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
L. Toni 0 0 3 1 33.3 0 3 4 1 3 0 0
G. Zambrotta 0 0 1 1 100.0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0

Romania
  GA SHT SHT-OG Svs SPct PKF PKS YC RC
B. Lobont 1 12 5 4 80.0 0 0 0 0
  SUB G Ast SHTS SOG SOG% CK CR FC FS Off YC RC
C. Chivu 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
R. Cocis +89 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
P. Codrea 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 2 0 0 0 0
C. Contra 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
N. Dica +26 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 5 0 0 0 0
D. Goian 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0
B. Lobont 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
A. Mutu -89 1 0 4 3 75.0 2 2 2 1 2 1 0
B. Nicolita +61 0 0 0 0 - 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
D. Niculae 0 0 2 0 0.0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0
F. Petre -61 0 0 1 1 100.0 2 1 2 1 0 0 0
M. Radoi -26 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
R. Rat 0 0 1 0 0.0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0
G. Tamas 0 0 2 1 50.0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0

Goalkeepers
GAGoals Allowed
SHTShots Faced
SHT-OGShots on Goal Faced
SvsSaves
SPctSave Pct.(Percentage)
PKFPenalty Kicks Faced
PKSPenalty Kicks Saved
YCCautions/Yellow Cards
RCRed Cards
Players
GGoals
SHTSShots
SOGShots on Goal
SOG%Shots on Goal %
CKCorner Kicks
CRCrosses
FCFouls Committed
FSFouls Suffered
YCCautions/Yellow Cards
RCRed Cards
AstAssists
OffOffsides
SUBSubstitution
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