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POZNAN, POLAND – JUNE 18: Richard Dunne of Republic of Ireland attempts to block the shot by Mario Balotelli of Italy during the UEFA EURO 2012 group C match between Italy and Ireland at The Municipal Stadium on June 18, 2012 in Poznan, Poland. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
Italy beat Ireland 2-0 to progress to the quarter finals of the tournament. The Azzuri took the lead when Cassano headed in a well taken corner from Andrea Pirlo. The second came with just five minutes remaining in the game, when substitute Mario Balotelli brilliantly converted from another corner kick. The Italians were solid in defence, and the Irish hardly troubled Buffon in goal. With this win the Azzuri secure second spot in Group C, behind Spain.
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Italy:
Gianluigi Buffon (6.5)- Did not have much to do, but did well to save Andrews effort from a free kick.
Ignazio Abate (6.5)- Played well on the right and made a few good crosses to Di Natale. Did well to keep Duff quiet for most of the game.
Andrea Brazagli(6.5)- Did a good job marking Keane, and did not let him have move freely towards goal and made some important interceptions.
Fredrico Blazaretti (7.5)- Was very active in midfield, had been brought in by Prandelli to add another dimension to the attack. Took a good shot from 35 yards but goes over the bar.
Georgio Chiellini (6.0)- Had a good game until he injured his ankle and was substituted for Bonucci.
Danielle De Rossi (6.5)- Made a few crucial tackles to stop Andrews and Duff getting through on goal. Tries a shot on goal from the edge of the area but the shot goes high. Was booked in the second half for a rash tackle.
Claudio Marchisio(6.0)- Had a decent game in midfield.
Andrea Pirlo(7.5)- Once again was the anchor of the Italian midfield and orchestrated the play. Takes a brilliant corner that was converted to goal by Cassano.
Thiago Motta(6.5)- Made probing runs down the middle combining well with Pirlo and Cassano. Creates a good chance for Di Natale who shoots straight at Given.
Antonio Di Natale(5.5) – Gets about six good chances from inside the box, the best of which was right from the penalty spot but it was blocked very well by St Ledger. He was unsurprisingly replaced by Balotelli, who went on to score the second for the Azzuri.
Antonio Cassano (7.0)- Played well down the right and partnered well with Di Natale. Scored from a Pirlo corner as his header found its way into the net despite the efforts of Duff to scramble it away. Was playing in tandem with Blazaratti and creating some good moves. Was substituted in the second half for Diamanti.
Subs
Leonardo Bonucci- (5.0)
Alessandro Diamanti- (6.0)Took a very good corner that Balotelli brilliantly converted into goal.
Mario Balotelli (6.5)- Scored a stunning goal from Diamanti’s corner as he finished with his back to the goal.
Ireland:
Shay Given (4.0)- Had a nervy start to the game as he fumbled a shot from Cassano which should have been regular save. Luckly for him there was no one around to poach a goal. Should have done better to save another Cassano’s shot that was taken fron a tight angle and went over his head into goal.
John O’Shea (4.0)- Failed to cover Balotelli, who managed to get to the ball just ahead of him and finish. Booked for foul on Blazaretti in the second half.
Richard Dunne (5.0)- Had a chance to score for Ireland from a well taken free kick by Damien Duff, but his header was weak and off target. Made a good block from a Cassano shot earlier in the second half.
Sean St Ledger (7.0)- Was easily the best defensive performance in the game. Blocked at least five or six goal bound efforts from Di Natale. Apart from that he also made a few good interceptions from crosses and free kicks.
Stephen Ward (4.0)- Should have been marking Cassano when he scored the goal, had a disappointing game.
Damien Duff(5.0)- Made his hundredth appearance for the Irish. Played quite well on the right, but was not given much room by the likes of Di Rossi, Abate and Brazagli.
Keith Andrews (2.5)- Put in a good attacking performance, almost scoring from a well struck free kick, which was Irelands best effort in the entire match. On the other hand was woeful in defense and made two extremely rash tackles which saw him sent off after two yellow cards.
Glenn Whelan (3.0)- Another one of those Irish players who was so bogged down by the Italian defense, that he hardly had any impact on the game.
Aiden McGeady (3.5)- Made a few good runs from the right but was kept quiet for most of the match by Chiellini.
Robbie Keane (3.0) – Hardly made his presence felt. Had no influence on the game what so ever. Was effectively cut off by Abate and Brazagli.
Kevin Doyle (3.0)- Did not have much to do either, was substituted in the second half for Watlers.
Subs:
Jonathan Walters – (2.5)
Simon Cox – (2.0)
Shane Long – (2.0)
