However, France now
leads Group B with 19 points. Scotland
is next with 18 points, followed by Italy with 17. Each team has four
games remaining and only the top two in the group qualify.
Italy and France
draw 0-0 in European Championship 2008 qualifier
Italy may not get a chance to
add a European Championship title to its 2006 World Cup triumph.
Sympatico
Andrew
Dampf
From Associated Press
August
9, 2007
MILAN, Italy
(AP) The Azzurri are in danger of failing to qualify for Euro 2008 following
a 0-0 draw with France
on Saturday.
France leads Group B
with 19 points. Scotland is
next with 18 points, followed by Italy with 17. Each team has four
games remaining and only the top two in the group qualify.
"People
may think that we're like Brazil.
But we're not a team like that," Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso said. "We won the World Cup by fighting for
it."
Italy can begin
fighting its way back up the standings against Ukraine on Wednesday, but the Azzurri will be without Gattuso,
who picked up a yellow card.
When Italy won its
previous World Cup in 1982 it didn't qualify for the 1984 European
Championship.
"As
far as the standings are concerned, it's wide open - but I'm not making any
calculations," Italy
coach Roberto Donadoni said, adding that he isn't
worried. "Absolutely not. Not now at least. But maybe in two months."
The
closest either team came to scoring was when Italy forward Filippo Inzaghi's shot grazed the top of the crossbar in the 34th
minute.
Otherwise,
goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Italy's
defence proved too good for France forwards
Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka, and Alessandro Del Piero and Inzaghi were too slow
down the other end.
"We
were too timid," Italy
captain Fabio Cannavaro
said. "We needed to be more incisive, with more will to win."
Italy hasn't beaten
France without the help of
penalties since the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. The Azzurri
won last year's World Cup final in a shootout, then lost in France 3-1 two
months later to open Euro 2008 qualifying.
"We
knew there was a lot of talk surrounding this match," France
midfielder Patrick Vieira said. "We were very focused over the 90 minutes,
and we saw a very well organized French team. It's a good result."
France coach Raymond
Domenech watched from the tribune after he was
suspended for accusing Italy
of fixing an Olympic qualifying match eight years ago.
Italian
fans whistled during the French national anthem.
"It
wasn't nice," Donadoni said, adding that Domenech's comments "may have played a role."
Following
the tense buildup to the latest installment of the rivalry, both squads started
aggressively.
France midfielder
Claude Makelele was shown a yellow card in the sixth
minute for rough play and Lilian Thuram was bleeding
after a clash of heads with fellow defender Julien Escude.
France used its
speed to assert itself, with Henry setting up Florent
Malouda, who sent the ball wide in the game's first
shot in the 10th.
Cannavaro slid in and nearly redirected in Andrea Pirlo's corner kick for Italy's first chance in the 14th.
Three
minutes later, Anelka slipped into Italy's area
and was set up by Franck Ribery, but couldn't find
the target.
Italy had trouble
penetrating France's defence, with Eric Abidal doing a
good job of shutting down Massimo Oddo on Italy's right
flank.
Gattuso was cautioned for tripping Makelele
in the 31st.
Mauro Camoranesi
and Del Piero combined on a crafty play inside the
area in the 33rd, but France
goalkeeper Mickael Landreau
had no problem stopping Del Piero's weak shot.
As Italy started
organizing itself, Inzaghi's attempt from a sharp
angle up the left flank grazed the top of the crossbar.
Ribery's long shot went wide in the 42nd and Buffon
stopped Malouda's powerful attempt from beyond the
area in the 43rd as France
tried to beat the Azzurri from outside the box.
Neither team made any changes at halftime and Italy took the
initiative with a series of corner kicks and a long shot from Camoranesi that Landreau had to
tip over the bar in the 50th.
Two
minutes later, Buffon smothered a close-range effort from Anelka.
In
the 56th, Henry was cautioned for tripping Cannavaro
as Italy
started a counterattack.
A few
minutes later, Pirlo set up Del Piero
at the edge of the area but Del Piero couldn't get by
two defenders.
Cristiano
Lucarelli replaced Inzaghi
in the 65th, but the Azzurri couldn't get the ball to
the tall forward.
"Tactically
neither team wanted to go for it, so I think a draw is a good result for
us," Thuram said.
Italy sorely missed
Bayern Munich forward Luca Toni, who is out with a thigh injury.
Also
out was Marco Materazzi, recovering from thigh
surgery. The recipient of Zinedine Zidane's head butt in last year's World Cup final, Materazzi sat in the stands with a shirt that read "I
love Paris."
Before
the match, highlights of Italy's
victory over France
in the World Cup were shown on the stadium jumbo screen, drawing roars of
delight from the capacity crowd of 80,000 at the San Siro
stadium.
Also,
there was a tribute to fallen opera singer Luciano
Pavarotti, with a few of his arias pumped through the public address system
before the players came out onto the field.