Published By: PM NEWS Live
24th June, 2010
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) Â – 90+5 mins: FULL TIME! Slovakia 3 Italy 2
Wild celebrations from the Slovakian players as they have beaten the defending champions to secure their first World Cup victory as an independent nation.
90+5 mins: Sharp collective intake of breath from the Italian fans as Pepe goes very close.
– 90+3 mins: The other group F match has finished goalless, so Italy need just another goal to go through on goal difference.
– 90+2 mins: GOAL! Slovakia 3 Italy 2
90 mins: There will be four minutes of added time.
-89 mins: GOAL! Slovakia 3 Italy 1
-84 mins: Italy think they have equalised as they knock the ball into the net but the linesman rules that Quagliarella was slightly offside.
– 81 mins: GOAL! Slovakia 2 Italy 1
75 mins: YELLOW CARD! Pepe is booked for scything down Stoch
– 73 mins: GOAL! Slovakia 2 Italy 0
Game Over! Vittek adds a second as he leaps in front of Chiellini at the near post to poke the ball past the keeper.
71 mins: Italy only need to equalise to go through to the last 16, with New Zealand being held by Paraguay, or should that be the other way around?
– 69 mins: Its end to end stuff as Slovakia’s Stoch cuts inside Cannavaro and fires a shot just wide of the post. Â Marchetti had it covered.
67 mins: The referee waves away Italian appeals as Quagliarella’s volley is blocked on the goalline by Skrtel. Italy say the ball crossed the line but the TV replays are inconclusive.
-65Â mins: Italy have less than 30 minutes to salvage their World Cup campaign and if do get a result then the introduction of Pirlo will have been pivotal.ent.
-Â 60 mins: The Italian dugout is full of anxious players with Lippi nervously pacing the byline.
– 58 mins: Di Natale has a wild shot for Italy. I really cannot remember the Slovakian keeper having anything to do in this match!
– 57 mins: “Actually, the cheer he got when he came on was probably slightly bigger!” says AFP reporter Barnaby Chesterman.
– 56 mins: Italy roll the dice for the final time as Pirlo comes on for Montolivo.
– 53 mins: “Biggest cheer of the afternoon so far as images of Andrea Pirlo getting ready ot come on were beamed onto the big screen,” says our man at the stadium.
– 51 mins: Slovakia have already started the time-wasting as the goalie does a shameless dive after brushing against an Italian player.
Cheers from the crowd as the referee orders the keeper to get up.
-49 mins: Best chance of the match so far for Italy as Pepe whips in a cross for Iaquinta whose powerful header goes inches wide. That was close!.
– 48 mins: YELLOW CARD! The English referee books Iaquinta for a high challenge on Skrtel.
– 46 mins: Italy get the second half under way. Lippi has made two changes with Christian Magio and Fabio Quagliarella comiing on for Gattuso and Criscito.
– 1459 GMT: Former Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend has been disappointed with Italy’s first-half display.
“They have looked really poor,” says the ITV pundit. “That pass by De Rossi was the worst pass in this World Cup and I am pleased that Slovakia punished that mistake.”
1458 GMT: “No-one can say Slovakia’s goal wasn’t deserved, they’ve been the better side so far as Marcello Lippi’s changes have failed to spark life into his side,” says Barnaby.
“Gennaro Gattuso has added only fouls and no bite to the midfield while Antonio Di Natale has yet to make anything happen up front and Vincenzo Iaquinta has been no more effective in a central role than the player he replaced (Alberto Gilardino),” adds our man at pitchside.
1454 GMT: There is no question who the locals are supporting at Ellis Park.
“Fabio Cannavaro and Gennaro Gattuso got the biggest cheers when the teams were read out and blue seems to be the predominant colour in the stands,” my AFP colleague Barnaby Chesterman tells me.
– 45+3 mins: HALF-TIME! Slovakia 1 Italy 0
Italy have the last shot of the match but it comes to nothing, which just about sums up the toothless Azzurri attack.
-45+2 mins: Superb! Vittek holds off Cannavaro and passes to Kucka who hits a fierce volley a whisker wide of the post. The Sparta Prague star showed excellent skill to control the ball.
-45 mins: There will be three minutes of added time.
-44 mins: Confusion on the sidelines as Strba is stretchered off but waves off a substitution and comes back on with a huge white bandage.
-43 mins: Ouch! Strba has a nasty gash on his left knee after he is caught accidentally by Gattuso’s follow-through.- 40 mins: Skrtel mistimes a cross and nearly turns the ball into his own net. -That is the closest Italy have come to scoring!
-39 mins: YELLOW CARD! The fierce looking Vittek is booked for a swipe at Cannavaro.
Maybe he is the Slovakian enforcer and is getting some retribution on Cannavaro?
-35 mins: Slovakia have so far managed two shots on goal, a 100% increase on what they achieved against Paraguay.
– 33 mins: Cannavaro is lucky to stay on the pitch for a two-footed challenge on Hamsik…maybe the referee didn’t see it because that tackle deserved a booking.
– 30 mins: YELLOW CARD! The Italy captain Cannavaro is booked for a crude challenge on the Sparta Prague midfielder Kucka.
– 27 mins: Italy do not look cohesive and are devoid of any attacking intent.. they are really missing AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo.
-25 mins: GOAL! Slovakia 1 Italy 0
Disater for Italy as Slovakia take a well-deserved lead! A misguided pass by De Rossi is intercepted by Hamsik who slips a pass to Vittek who guides his low shot past the keeper.
– 22 mins: Slovakia’s Skrtel shows a surprising turn of speed as he picks up the ball on the half-way line and charges upfield into the Italian penalty area. He never does that for Liverpool!
– 19 mins: Slovakia are really up for this match, while Italy are looking very jaded.
– 16 mins: YELLOW CARD! Slovakia’s Struba is booked for a late challenge on Gattusso, ruling the FC Xanthi defender out of any potential last-16 clash.
-14 mins: Marchetti is out like a flash to smother the ball at the feet of the fast-charging Hamsik
– 13 mins: The two goals Italy have conceded in this World  Cup have come from set-pieces so  Marchetti leaves nothing to chance by punching a free-kick into touch.
– 11 mins: Gattuso is lucky to avoid a booking as he charges across the pitch and upends Vittek.
-9 mins: Italy seem content to let Slovakia keep hold of the ball.
-6 mins: Slovakia have the first real chance of the match but Hamsik’s shot goes inches wide of the post.
The Napoli star found a lot of space in the penalty area and the Italian defender’s start an inquest to see who was at fault.
-3 mins: Bright start by Italy and Iaquinta’s shot goes well wide. He will be relieved to see the linesman was waving his flag for offside! – 1 min: Di Natale tries to justify his selection by having the first shot of the match, but his 40 yard effort doesn’t trouble the keeper.
1400 GMT: AND WE’RE OFF! Slovakia, wearing an all white strip, get the match started.
1358 GMT: The anthems. First its the turn of the Slovakians who belt out their anthem. That is followed by the upbeat Italian anthem.
1355 GMT: My AFP colleague in Rome, Davide Berretta tells me that the Vatican is taking a close interest in the World Cup.
“Yesterday the pope asked me whether I would have watched the Germany match… I even had to tell him I would support Germany,” Vatican number two Tarcisio Bertone said on Thursday, adding that he supports Italy, according to the ANSA news agency.
1352 GMT: Italy have recalled veteran AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso in place of young Juventus star Claudio Marchisio.
Lippi has also replaced striker Alberto Gilardino with last season’s Serie A top scorer Antonio Di Natale.
Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss makes four changes to the team that was beaten 2-0 by Paraguay last time out and shows there was no room for sentiment by dropping his son.
– 1350 GMT: Both sides have announced their starting XI
Slovakia: Jan Mucha; Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Radoslav Zabavnik; Zdenko Strba, Miroslav Stoch, Mark Hamsik (capt), Juraj Kucka; Erik Jendrisek, Robert Vittek
Coach: Vladimir Weiss (Slovakia)
Italy: Federico Marchetti; Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro (capt), Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito; Riccardo Montolivo, Gennaro Gattuso, Daniele de Rossi; Simone Pepe, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale.
Coach: Marcello Lippi (Italy)
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
WELCOME TO ELLIS PARK STADIUM where defending champions Italy will attempt to salvage their World Cup campaign in a vital Group F clash against Slovakia.
The 2006 champions are in serious danger of being dumped out of the tournament after two listless 1-1 draws and must beat Slovakia to guarantee a place in the last 16.
The Azzurri can sneak through with another draw provided Paraguay beat New Zealand in Polokwane. Slovakia are still chasing their first World Cup victory as an independent nation and if they get it, and New Zealand do not win, could get through to the next round.
Stay with us to see if Italy can avoid exiting a World Cup at the opening stage for the first time since 1974.
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – 1350 GMT: Both sides have announced their starting XI
Slovakia: Jan Mucha; Peter Pekarik, Martin Skrtel, Jan Durica, Radoslav Zabavnik; Zdenko Strba, Miroslav Stoch, Mark Hamsik (capt), Juraj Kucka; Erik Jendrisek, Robert Vittek
Coach: Vladimir Weiss (Slovakia)
Italy: Federico Marchetti; Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro (capt), Giorgio Chiellini, Domenico Criscito; Riccardo Montolivo, Gennaro Gattuso, Daniele de Rossi; Simone Pepe, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Antonio Di Natale.
Coach: Marcello Lippi (Italy)
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
WELCOME TO ELLIS PARK STADIUM where defending champions Italy will attempt to salvage their World Cup campaign in a vital Group F clash against Slovakia.
The 2006 champions are in serious danger of being dumped out of the tournament after two listless 1-1 draws and must beat Slovakia to guarantee a place in the last 16.
The Azzurri can sneak through with another draw provided Paraguay beat New Zealand in Polokwane. Slovakia are still chasing their first World Cup victory as an independent nation and if they get it, and New Zealand do not win, could get through to the next round.
Stay with us to see if Italy can avoid exiting a World Cup at the opening stage for the first time since 1974.
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