Azzurri eliminate sorry French

France has become the first big-name casualty of Euro 2008 after going down 2-0 to Italy in its final Group C game at Euro 2008 in Zurich.

The Italians, meanwhile, secured passage to the knockout stage, despite largely indifferent form over their group matches, after Romania succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to the in-form Netherlands.

It was a night of misery for the French, who lost midfield talisman Franck Ribery to what looked a serious leg injury less than ten minutes into the game, before having defender Eric Abidal sent off on the half hour for a last-man tackle on Luca Toni.

Andrea Pirlo dispatched the subsequent penalty beyond Gregory Coupet, and a deflected Daniele De Rossi free kick on the hour sealed France's fate.
The French depart the tournament after amassing just one goal and one point from its three encounters, and a changing of the guard looks imminent, with some of its experienced players expected to retire from international football.

The game between the World Cup finalists could have proved inconsequential if Romania had upset the Netherlands. But barring that result, France went into the game needing a win to progress, whilst the Italians only required a draw.

Accordingly, French manager Raymond Domenech paired Theirry Henry with Karim Benzema for the first time in the tournament, whilst his Italian counterpart Roberto Donadoni again tinkered with his line-up, making two changes to the side that faced Romania.

The first clear-cut chance of the match fell to Luca Toni, after Giorgio Chiellini lofted a through-ball over the defence. But he wastefully fired wide after despite being free of France's defence

This was to be a common theme for the match, as many long balls were played to Toni, and on another night he may well have scored at least a hat-trick.

France was dealt a body blow after less than 10 minutes when Ribery was stretchered off. After a seemingly innocuous challenge, he collapsed in agony, forcing Domenech to replace him with Marseille midfielder Samir Nasri.

France's early rhythm was disrupted by Ribery's withdrawal, and the Italians seized the initiative. First, Panucci connected with a powerful header from Italy's first corner, but Claude Makelele was on the line to hoof it clear. Shortly after, a whipped Pirlo free kick from out wide was punched clear by Coupet with Luca Toni lurking.

But on 25 minutes, France's problems were compounded when the Italians were awarded a penalty, after another long ball over the top found Toni. His sublime control took the ball away from Abidal, who then hauled him down from behind.

Slovakian referee Lubos Michel was left with little alternative but to distribute the first red card of the tournament to Abidal, despite the protests of the French players.

The ever-reliable Pirlo stepped up and powered the ball beyond Coupet to send Italy into the lead, as France was forced into another reshuffle, with Nasri, who replaced Ribery just 15 minutes early, unluckily sacrificed in order to bring on centre-back Jean-Alain Boumsong.

By now, Italy had well and truly taken control of the match, and Toni then wasted a remarkable succession of opportunities as Italy looked to extend its advantage.

The lively Antonio Cassano produced the best of Toni's chances as he picked him out from the right, but Toni's clever flick sailed just beyond the far-post. As Toni saw another two chances wastefully come and go, the French looked as if they were about to collapse under the barrage of pressure.

But amazingly, he was nearly made to pay for these misses, as France carved out its first decent opportunity just after the half-hour. The impressive Jeremy Toulalan released Theirry Henry, who found space inside Chiellini. But Henry, who has not been at his best at Euro 2008, scuffed the chance by firing wide.

Italy nearly made the game safe just before half-time, as a free-kick from Fabio Grosso was brilliantly tipped onto the post by Coupet at full-stretch.

The second half began with France enjoying a good spell of possession. But despite pinning the Italians on the edge of their own penalty area, France failed to severely test Buffon. Benzema volleyed over, before two Henry shots left Buffon untroubled.

But as has been historically customary for the Azzurri, they hit the French on the break with a sucker punch. De Rossi blasted a 30-yard free kick, and it sailed into the net after a fortuitous deflection off Henry's extended boot wrong-footed Coupet.

The goal ended France's hopes of qualifying, and it was evident in the last half hour of play. Whilst Benzema did force an outstanding save from Buffon with a curling effort with a quarter-hour left on the clock, the Italians enjoyed a relatively stable period to end the game.

Toni could have again etched his name on the score-sheet in the final minute of injury time, but this time his shot cannoned off the outside of the upright.

The final whistle was greeted with ecstasy by the Italians, which now faces Spain in the quarter-finals on Sunday. However, they will be without Milan duo Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso after they picked up second bookings.


Ratings

France
23 - Coupet - 7 - Some good saves.
3 - Abidal - 4 - Sent off early.
5 - Gallas - 5 - Troubled all day.
6 - Makelele - 5 - Lost midfield battle.
9 - Benzema - 7 - Worked hard, would've scored if not for Buffon brilliance.
10 - Govou - 6 - In and out.
12 - Henry - 6 - Looks a spent force.
13 - Evra - 6 - Often double-teamed on Italian right-wing.
14 - Clerc - 5 - Wasteful in possession
20 - Toulalan - 7 - A rare shining light.
22 - Ribery - 5 - Forced off early.

(SUB) 2 - Boumsong - 5 - Never comfortable.
(SUB) 8 - Anelka - 6 - No impact.
(SUB) 11 - Nasri - 6 - Only lasted 15 minutes. Unlucky.

Italy
1 - Buffon - 8 - Did what he needed to do, with one outstanding save.
2 - Panucci - 6 - Little to do.
3 - Grosso - 7 - Worked hard up and down the left side.
4 - Chiellini - 6 - Looked better today.
8 - Gattuso - 6 - Typical performance.
9 - Toni - 5 - Terribly wasteful.
10 - De Rossi - 7 - Solid game.
18 - Cassano - 7 - Justified his selection.
19 - Zambrotta - 6 - Untroubled.
20 - Perrotta - 6 - Worked well in midfield.
21 - Pirlo - 6 - Creative as always.

(SUB) 13 - Ambrosini - 6 - Slotted into Perrotta's place well.
(SUB) 16 - Camoranesi - 6 - Little impact.
(SUB) 22 - Aquilani - 6 - No time.