Home hopes dashed as magnificent Italy strike late Thrilling last-ditch double fires Azzurri into final

ITALY squeezed into the World Cup final in Dortmund last night, mugging Germany in classic fashion with two minutes remaining of the 30 extra minutes added on for extra time. First Fabio Grosso and then Alessandro Del Piero at last found a way past Jens Lehmann when it seemed the match was assured of going to penalties.

The wait was long but when these goals finally came they were both gorgeous executions. Grosso, inside the angle of the box, took Andrea Pirlo's deft pass and curled the ball inside the left post, leaving Lehmann, for once, beaten. Moments later Del Piero, one of four strikers tried on the night by Marcello Lippi, stabbed the ball high past the German goalkeeper from close range.

The outcome spelled the end of a glorious World Cup campaign for Jurgen Klinsmann's relatively unfancied Germany. For Klinsmann, a previously untried manager, to come as close as this to reaching the final will surely be a lauded act across the Fatherland.

However, last night he said he will need to time to ponder his future. There has been a clamour for Klinsmann to stay on in charge of the national side but he wants time to reflect on his situation. "To lose a game like that after 120 minutes is a bitter pill to swallow but a huge compliment should go to the team for what they have achieved and the character they have shown."

It is Italy, though, who will await the outcome of tonight's other semi-final between France and Portugal. However, the Italians had not f lourished in the second half at all. Over the opening 45 minutes there had been a certain menace about Lippi's side, but after the interval it was Germany who did most of the pressing. While Italy, after surviving much German pressing, struck the woodwork twice in extra-time, Lukas Podolski twice missed glorious chances for Germany in the extended perod.

All of Germany had delighted at the sheer size, reach and instinct of Lehmann's paws. He plucked Francesco Totti's free-kick clean out of the air when other goalkeepers would have flapped at the ball and spent the entire night coming out of the sky to cleanly clutch a series of Italian crosses. Lehmann also dived bravely at the feet of Pirlo and Simone Perrotta when both players were clean through. Even Lehmann, though, had to prove fallible - or at least beatable - in the end.

The referee, Benito Archundia of Mexico, also deserved some praise in this prolonged affair. In a World Cup in which yellow cards have been fluttering like snowflakes it was a pleasure and a privilege to go 90 minutes of play and realise that there had only been three yellow cards shown. The game was not bereft of players hitting the deck, but the difference here was, when they started squealing in the process, Senor Archundia duly ignored them.

Notwithstanding that this was a World Cup semi-final, the match had a ring of anger around it following the dastardly Italian journalism which got Torsten Frings banned from the fixture. Germany made their feelings known to FIFA about Frings' suspension - the midfielder was framed by Italian TV throwing a punch amid the argy-bargy which followed Germany's quarter-final against Argentina and was awarded a retrospective red card - but it made little difference.

With Frings erased from his game-plan, Klinsmann threw in both Sebastian Kehl and Tim Borowski to the German mix, and here we were staring at two classic 4-4-2s: Germany with their straight attacking pair of Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, and Italy with Francesco Totti tucked in behind the gangling Luca Toni.

It took 34 minutes for the best chance of the first half to fall Germany's way. Klose went marauding through on goal and swiftly released Bern Schneider to his right, who was free and 15 yards from Gianluigi Buffon at the angle. But the German midfielder pushed the ball a little too far to his right before flying his shot inches over the bar. Buffon, indeed, might even have got a gloved finger to the ball.

It wasn't for another half hour before Germany carved Italy open again. This time Schneider was the supplier, chipping the ball to Podolski in the six-yard box, who turned and lashed his shot against Buffon. From the goalkeeper's fisted save, Arne Friedrich then skied the ball over.

Michael Ballack wasted a glorious opportunity after 81 minutes, lashing a 20-yard freekick over Buffon's bar. But it was Italy who had the better extra-time chances, with Alberto Gilardino hitting the post and Gianluca Zambrotta striking the bar early on.

Then Podolski, once with a shot, the next time with a header, failed to convert. Del Piero had arrived for Italy, as had David Odonkor and Oliver Neuville for Germany, but the game simply could not produce a goal. Until the death.

Germany (4-4-2) Lehmann; Friedrich, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Lahm; Schneider (Odonkor 83), Kehl, Ballack, Borowski (Schweinsteiger 72); Podolski, Klose (Neuville 111). Subs: Jansen, Huth, Nowotny, Hanke, Kahn, Asamoah, Hitzlsperger, Hildebrand Booked Borowski, Metzelder Italy (4-4-1-1) Buffon; Zambrotta, Materazzi, Cannavaro, Grosso; Perrotta (Del Piero 104), Pirlo, Gattuso, Camoranesi (Iaquinta 90); Totti; Toni (Gilardino 74) Subs: Zaccardo, Barzagli, Peruzzi, Nesta, Amelia, Barone, Inzaghi, Oddo Booked Camoranesi Referee B Archundia (Mexico)