In epic clash, Italy conquer the conditions... and England too

By Andy Goldberg, dpa

They are two of the classic teams of world football. But when England and Italy clash, the outcome is rarely a treat for football fans.

Just think back to the dour chess match that characterised their encounter at the Euro 2012 quarter-finals, which saw England defend in numbers and Italy happy to ping the ball around and wait patiently for an opening which didn't come for 120 minutes (Italy went on to win on penalties).

Everything seemed to point to a similar contest on Saturday.

Not only did the tropical conditions point to a slow moving affair, so did the supposed poor quality of the Manaus pitch. Then there was Uruguay's surprise 3-1 defeat against Costa Rica earlier in the day, which meant that a draw might have been acceptable to both Italy and England.

But from the very first minute, when young England winger Raheem Sterling sent a powerful shot rasping into the side netting, it became clear that this would be no ordinary clash between the Azzurri and the Three Lions.

In the first half alone, England had nine shots, while Italy had 11, as the players defied the conditions and expectations. Italy enjoyed more of the possession and repeatedly found space down England's left flank.

Their goal came from an exquisitely executed corner kick, which saw the ball prodded from the right to Andrea Pirlo outside the box. He stepped over it, and the ball ran to Claudio Marchisio, who teed it up from 23 metres and rifled it through a tangle of bodies inside Joe Hart's right post.

England's goal two minutes later was a blast of classic pace, power and precision. Sterling, a surprise choice by coach Roy Hodgson and one of the brightest players on the pitch, broke up an Azzurri attack and released Wayne Rooney down the left channel. The Manchester United striker looped a superb cross for Daniel Sturridge to finish confidently with a close-range half-volley.

The battle continue in the second half, with the winning goal coming with the help of one of Italy's most dangerous players, Antonio Candreva, who was a thorn in England's left side the whole night long. The Lazio winger cut inside Leighton Baines and swung a cross to the far post, where man-of-the-match Mario Balotelli pulled away from Gary Cahill to arrow his header into the net.

For the next 30 minutes England attacked in wave after wave, but the Italian team, summoning its traditional defensive strengths, stood firm.

It was, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli would later say, a memorable performance by both sets of players.

"It was an epic game - a match we will remember all of our lives," he said.

Prandelli seemed especially proud, not about the fact that his players were technically superior, but that the months of preparation had produced a team that was able to match England physically as well.

"Our logic was that we didn't have players who are as powerful as England, so we had to enhance the abilities of our players," he said. "Physically speaking, we were a little stronger than England and we played a great game and so did they."

"We have seen a brave Italy today," added Andrea Pirlo. "It was an important victory on our way at the World Cup."

For England, the defeat was hard to take after they put in so much effort and enterprising play.

"At this level it's so cruel," said captain Steven Gerrard. "You can try so hard and come away with nothing."

But there's hope for the Three Lions. The team showed real quality, and they have a reasonable chance of winning their next two games and make it through to the next round.

"My gut feeling is that we did some very good things and there were many good individual performances," Hodgson said.

"On another occasion, the shots or crosses may have worked for us. If the players can reproduce that performance twice again, there's a good chance they can get the results."