World Cup champion Italy has advanced to the quarterfinals of the
European Championship football tournament with a 2-0 win over France in
Zurich, Switzerland.
Andrea Pirlo put Italy in front with a
penalty kick in the 25th minute Tuesday after France was reduced to 10
players on the field. Eric Abidal was ejected for a foul on Italy's
Luca Toni. Daniele De Rossi made the score 2-0 with a deflected free
kick in the 62nd. The victory was Italy's first over France without
the help of a penalty shootout in 30 years
Italy will next
face Group D winner Spain on Sunday in Vienna. But the Italians will
be without key midfielders Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso after both
received their second yellow cards of the tournament.
The
Italians needed help from the Netherlands to advance. The Dutch beat
Romania, 2-0, in the other Group C match. The Netherlands won the group
with a maximum nine points.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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