World Cup 2010: Italy exit as Slovakia turf out reigning
champions
Riccardo Montolivo keeps his footing as Italy's Gennaro
Gattuso and Slovakia's Juraj Kucka tussle on the turf. Photograph:
Scott Heavey/Action Images
The World Cuop holders are out, and
Slovakia,
like New Zealand before them, can celebrate the greatest day in
their footballing history.
There was a telling moment after half an hour of this game.
Slovakia were already in the lead when Fabio Cannavaro, the Italy captain who went through the
entire 2006 World Cup without a single disciplinary blemish,
blatantly blocked Juraj Kucka with his shoulder and smiled as he
picked up the caution.
It was the smile of a captain who knows the game is up.
Cannavaro is no longer the impeccable defender he once was, and he
was lucky Howard Webb took a lenient view when he followed his
booking with a foul on Marek Hamsik. Italy are no longer
recognisable as the team who won the World Cup four years ago,
conceding only two goals along the way.
If this result was a shock, it was no surprise to anyone who
watched Italy's leaden display against New Zealand, where they only
gained a point through the most dubious of penalties. Marcelo Lippi
accepted they had lacked imagination and guile in that game and it
was the same again here, except Slovakia proved much tougher
opponents than the Kiwis. This time, in addition to struggling to
come up with any inspiration in attack, Italy faced a side capable
of causing their own defence plenty of problems.
Only when seemingly out of the World Cup did Italy come to life.
Di Natale brought them back into the game with a tap-in on the
rebound after Quagliarella's shot was blocked by Jan Mucha. The
Italians were so keen to get the game restarted a fight broke out
in the back of the net.
Italy thought they had the goal they needed to progress two
minutes later, only for Quagliarella to be ruled offside by a
matter of centimetres, before another ludicrously conceded goal by
the impostors in the Italian rear ruled out any chance of a
comeback. Kamil Kopunek had only just come on as a substitute,
though that was no excuse for Italy's failure to pick him up as he
ran straight through to latch on to a throw and lift the ball over
Marchetti.
Even then there was drama left as Quagliarella gloriously
chipped the Slovakia goalkeepr from the edge of the area to make
the last couple of minutes frantic, but Italy were timed out in the
end, paying the penalty for not playing the whole match with the
required intensity.
