World Cup Round of 16: three unforgettable Italy games

As Azzurri fans watch events unfolding in Qatar without their favourites there to support, Giancarlo Rinaldi looks back at past competitions. In the second of a five-part series here is a trio of epic clashes from the last 16 games of previous editions.

Italy 2-1 Nigeria (1994)

It was the game where Roberto Baggio threaded the eye of a needle to keep Azzurri hopes alive. Most supporters watching at home had already given up the ghost – a man down and a goal down in the closing stages of an epic last 16 encounter. But Arrigo Sacchi’s nerve-shredding journey still had many more twists and turns to come.

The goal which took the match to extra time came in the 89th minute with Gianfranco Zola – yes, that Gianfranco Zola – already having received his marching orders. Go and watch it again and it is enough to convert you to Buddhism. In amongst all the footballing turmoil and chaos, the Divine Ponytail somehow fpund the tranquillity and precision to find the bottom corner of the net and take the encounter to extra time.

Even then, though, many thought Italy were only prolonging the agony, but they had not reckoned on one key element now pumping through their veins – belief. In extra time, that man Baggio again showed the cool that most of us could only dream of to convert a penalty and deliver an incredible victory. It was the opening salvo in his explosion in a tournament which would take his team all the way to the final. An incredible effort, even if its closing chapter would be a bitter one.

South Korea 2-1 Italy (2002)

If you want to raise the hackles of Italian fans, even two decades later, you need only two words – Byron Moreno. The Ecuadorian referee oversaw one of the most controversial eliminations ever in the history of the Azzurri. To this day, La Gazzetta Dello Sport still runs stories about the notorious match official who was on duty for this game.

Giovanni Trapattoni’s troops had limped through the group stages with a win, a draw and a defeat but they still looked, on paper, too strong for the host nation at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium. But they got a hint of how much of a protagonist the referee would become when he gave a penalty in the opening minutes which was saved by Gigi Buffon. Nonetheless, Bobo Vieri steadied the nerves when he headed home his fourth goal of the tournament from a Francesco Totti cross before 20 minutes had passed.

Try as they might, though, they could not extend their lead and a fluffed clearance late in the game allowed South Korea to equalise through Seol Ki-Hyeon. It took the match to extra time where a key turning point came when Totti was given a second yellow for diving when he thought he should have had a penalty.

Down to 10 men, they still managed a good chance which was halted due to a dubious offside call before Ahn Jung-Hwan – who was playing in Italy with Perugia at the time – delivered the killer blow. The recriminations began even before the ball hit the back of the net.

Italy 1-0 Australia (2006)

The Azzurri only seem to do tense encounters in the first knockout stage and this was one of the edgiest of the lot. In the end, it was encapsulated by one key moment which would pave the way towards lifting the trophy that summer in Germany. Francesco Totti’s ice-cold stare before his decisive penalty will live long in the memory of anyone who witnessed it.

Marcello Lippi’s men were clear favourites to progress from this tie but they struggled throughout a tetchy encounter with the same manager – Guus Hiddink – who had masterminded their elimination by South Korea four years earlier. It was a game with more tasty tackles than goalscoring chances but Luca Toni probably had the best opportunity to break the deadlock before Marco Materazzi received a red card after about 50 minutes to make Italy’s task much tougher.

This time they held their nerve as, despite their man advantage, Australia struggled to create any goalscoring chances. When Fabio Grosso saw the opportunity to trip over the prone body of Lucas Neill in injury time, he did not let it go by and a penalty was awarded, which seemed to take a lifetime to take. Only Totti could manage to watch as he coolly converted to keep his team on course to lift the trophy. It was heartbreak for the Socceroos but a true delight for the Azzurri.

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