World champions Italy qualified for the UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals in dramatic fashion on Tuesday as they defeated France 2-0 at the Letzigrund Stadion and Romania lost by the same score to the Netherlands.

Pirlo penalty
Romania had begun the evening second, in Group C, and would have progressed regardless of events in Zurich had they beaten the already-qualified Dutch. But their defeat opened the door to the Azzurri who seized the opportunity in clinical fashion, inflicting another painful defeat on France and condemning the FIFA World Cup finalists to last place in the section. The game’s turning point arrived in the 24th minute when, after fouling Luca Toni, Eric Abidal was sent off and Andrea Pirlo converted the resulting penalty. Daniele De Rossi’s second-half strike added the gloss to a wonderful evening for Italy, dampened only by the yellow cards for Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso which mean they will miss the quarter-final against Spain on 22 June in Vienna.

Ribéry injury
France almost gifted Italy an ideal start when Toni pounced on Abidal’s slip, only to shoot narrowly wide. Having started slowly in each of their first two matches, Les Bleus were keen to seize an early grip and Franck Ribéry twice fired efforts wide before, to the dismay of the France fans, the winger injured his left leg in the tenth minute and carried off. Samir Nasri was sent on, yet France’s focus appeared to waver and Claude Makelele immediately needed to clear a Christian Panucci header off the line.

Red card
Italy looked menacing every time they broke and after Simone Perrotta had narrowly failed to collect Pirlo’s pass, France finally cracked. Abidal fouled Toni as he bore down on goal, prompting the referee to point to the spot and brandish a red card. Pirlo made no mistake, expertly dispatching the ball into the top left-hand corner. The double blow left France reeling and despite defender Jean-Alain Boumsong replacing the unfortunate Nasri, the two-time champions were in disarray. Toni might have scored three in as many minutes before the half-hour, but after skilfully back-heeling Antonio Cassano’s cross fractionally past the post, the FC Bayern München forward twice missed the target with only Grégory Coupet to beat.

Gross free-kick
Thierry Henry had an opportunity to raise French spirits in the 34th minute but after racing on to Jérémy Toulalan’s slick pass, the FC Barcelona forward struck a cross-shot past the post. With the strikers struggling to find their range, Fabio Grosso looked to show them the way just before half-time, curling a brilliant free-kick towards the bottom corner only for his Olympique Lyonnais team-mate Coupet to push it on to the post.

Almighty roar
Despite playing with ten men, France began the second period in the ascendancy, with Karim Benzema volleying over before Henry had two shots comfortably saved by Gianluigi Buffon. News that the Netherlands had opened the scoring against Romania prompted an almighty roar from the Azzurri faithful and the celebrating continued when De Rossi scored on 62 minutes. The AS Roma midfielder’s 30-metre free-kick took a cruel deflection off Henry, wrong-footing Coupet and effectively ending the French challenge. Although Benzema subsequently saw his curling shot brilliantly tipped wide by Buffon in the 74th minute, there was no way back for France, who finished their campaign with just one point after losing back-to-back matches for the first time in 15 years.

There may be little love lost between France and Italy but their two coaches were in agreement over one matter ahead of the eagerly anticipated Group C showdown in Zurich: for both Les Bleus and their transalpine rivals the final has come early at UEFA EURO 2008.

Dramatic evening
"This is the kind of game every player dreams of being involved in," France coach Raymond Domenech enthused, while his Italian counterpart Roberto Donadoni said: "We know what’s at stake and we’re ready to put our hearts and souls into it. For us, this is already a final." Few could have predicted that the two 2006 FIFA World Cup finalists, would be locking horns on Tuesday knowing that even a victory may not prove enough to reach the quarter-finals. With one point each after two matches, Romania could render their efforts fruitless by beating the Netherlands in Berne to hold on to second spot. It promises to be a dramatic evening, although Domenech is urging his men to focus only on events at the Letzigrund Stadion. "We have to forget the other game completely," he stressed. "We still have a tiny chance but it will only happen if we win our game."

‘Find a balance’
Like the world champions, who lost 3-0 to the Dutch in their opening game, France suffered their heaviest defeat in UEFA European Championship history in losing 4-1 against the Netherlands – and Domenech admits improvements are needed. "We’ve been trying to get the Dutch game out our heads for the last three days," the 56-year-old said. "Despite the result, there were positives to take from the performance, notably concerning the number of chances we created. But we need to find a balance. Against Romania we made a lot of effort to defend, whereas against the Netherlands we made a lot of effort to attack. Against Italy we’ll need to do a lot of defending and attacking."

Vieira absent
Domenech will again be without Patrick Vieira due to a thigh injury and, though he remained coy on the subject of team selection, Eric Abidal, Lassana Diarra and Karim Benzema are being tipped to feature after missing out last time. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was also keeping his cards close to his chest, saying: "I already have a good idea of my lineup, but this time I won’t reveal anything beforehand." The former AC Milan midfielder is not expected to repeat the five changes he made for the 1-1 draw with Romania, although Antonio Cassano may start in place of Alessandro Del Piero, while Massimo Ambrosini and Gennaro Gattuso are pressing for recalls.

Keen rivalry
Ever since David Trezeguet’s extra-time winner in the UEFA EURO 2000 final, France-Italy games have been keenly contested. The Azzurri gained revenge for the Rotterdam defeat by triumphing in Berlin two years ago, yet Domenech’s side reclaimed the upper hand with a victory in Paris in qualifying. Donadoni suggested the rivalry was not a significant factor, however, saying: "It’s just like any other game. It’s an important game, but playing France is no different to playing the Netherlands or Romania. Both sides will be extremely motivated and will try to win. It should be exciting. I can’t wait for the game to start."

After seeing his side hold France to a goalless draw, Romania coach Victor Piţurcă suggested the former world champions had seen better days. Raymond Domenech’s men may prove him wrong, yet after Friday’s 4-1 defeat by the Netherlands, the prospect of Les Bleus claiming a third UEFA European Championship title this year is beginning to fade.

Old guard
Lilian Thuram, Claude Makelele, Willy Sagnol, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira have been among Europe’s finest players for years, and France coach Raymond Domenech continues to show faith in his experienced, battle-hardened campaigners. Vieira has been given as much time as possible to prove his fitness in Switzerland, and though he remained on the bench at the Stade de Suisse, fellow veterans Thuram, Makelele and Henry all featured in the spine of the team.

Early setback
Indeed, six of France’s starting lineup were in their thirties and they struggled to live with their younger opponents early on. Making his 142nd international appearance, Thuram misjudged an attempted interception, then headed dangerously across his own penalty area to Dirk Kuyt. Makelele was combative as ever in midfield, yet even he surrendered possession and committed more fouls than usual as the high tempo continued. It was no surprise when Kuyt nodded the Oranje in front from a ninth-minute corner.

France fight back
Even the talismanic Henry initially looked subdued on his return from injury, although the turbo-charged Franck Ribéry worried the Netherlands defence every time he got possession. With Sidney Govou also using the ball intelligently, France slowly got on top. Govou and Ribéry, two of the side’s more junior figures at 28 and 25 respectively, had efforts saved by Edwin van der Sar, but the best opportunity to equalise fell to Henry on 54 minutes. It was the sort of chance he usually scores in his sleep, but this time his lob cleared the crossbar.

Understudy to starring role
Henry knew the miss could be costly, and so it proved as two Netherlands substitutes combined to score the second and third goals. Robin van Persie used to be Henry’s understudy at Arsenal FC but the Dutchman has matured and appears primed to make a major impact at these finals. After Van Persie had surged into the box to convert Arjen Robben’s cross, the two 24-year-olds linked up again in the 72nd minute, this time the Real Madrid CF winger showing too much pace for Thuram and rifling a shot high past Grégory Coupet.

Youthful exuberance
Just seconds before, France had pulled a goal back when Sagnol’s low cross was delightfully flicked in by Henry, who reassured French fans that his deadly scoring touch remains. Yet on a night when youth triumphed over experience, it was fitting that Carlsberg Man of the Match Wesley Sneijder should have the final say. Collecting Van Persie’s pass, the midfielder – also 24 – curled an unstoppable shot past Coupet, firing Marco van Basten’s exciting team into the last eight in considerable style and leaving Domenech with plenty to ponder.