The Republic of Ireland will take on France in the World Cup play-offs which commence next weekend in what will be an intriguing clash between the shrewd Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni and the much-maligned French national team coach Raymond Domenech.

Trapattoni's record speaks for itself with successful spells almost everywhere he coached yet his most notable job prior to taking over Ireland ended in miserable failure with the Azzurri.

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Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi has come under heavy criticism in recent months despite Italy's success in qualifying to the World Cup in South Africa. La Nazionale went through an alarming goal drought and was only able to overcome it after two unfortunate own goals from returning Georgia captain Kakha Kaladze.

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Jogaram em Parma, no estádio Ennio Tardini, para um público de 15.009 pessoas, as seleções da Itália (4º no ranking da FIFA) e Chipre (65º no ranking da FIFA).
As 2 seleções jogaram antes desse jogo, os seguintes jogos:
22-03-1967 - Chipre 0x2 Itália (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
01-11-1967 - Itália 5x0 Chipre (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
12-02-1983 - Chipre 1x1 Itália (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
22-12-1983 - Itália 3x1 Chipre (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
22-12-1990 - Chipre 0x4 Itália (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
21-12-1991 - Itália 2x0 Chipre (Eliminatórias Eurocopa)
06-09-2008 - Chipre 1x2 Itália (Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo)
O quarteto de arbitragem foi assim:
Árbitro: Alon Yefet-ISR
Primeiro Assistente: Shmuel SHTEIF-ISR
Segundo Assistente: Danny KRASIKOW-ISR
Quarto Árbitro: Asaf KENAN-ISR
Aos 12 minutos do primeiro tempo, o camisa 12, Konstantinos MAKRIDIS abriu o placar para a seleção do Chipre. Click to continue reading...

Winning the World Cup twice on the trot is one of the hardest feats in sports and that's exactly what Italy are aiming to do next summer in South Africa.� Yesterday, we gave you the first two keys if Italy are going to pull off the historic double. Today, we present the final two.

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Jogaram em Dublin, no estádio Croke Park, para um público de 70.640 pessoas, as seleções do Eire (34º no ranking da FIFA) e Itália (4º do ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copas do Mundo
1994
New York/New Jersey
18/06/1994
ITA
0:1 (0:1)
IRL
Group matches
1990
Rome
30/06/1990
ITA
1:0 (1:0)
IRL
Quarter-finals
Eliminatórias Copa do Mundo
2010
Bari
01/04/2009
ITA
1:1 (1:0)
IRL
First stage
Eliminatórias Eurocopa
1972
Dublin
10/05/1971
IRL
1:2 (1:1)
ITA
Preliminary round
1972
Florence
08/12/1970
ITA
3:0 (2:0)
IRL
Preliminary round
Amistosos
2005
Dublin
17/08/2005
IRL
1:2 (1:2)
ITA
1992
Foxboro
04/06/1992
IRL
0:2 (0:1)
ITA
1985
Dublin
05/02/1985
IRL
1:2 (0:2)
ITA
1926
Turin
21/03/1926
ITA
3:0 (3:0)
IRL
O quarteto de arbitragem foi assim definido:

• Referee: Terje HAUGE (NOR)
• Assistant Referee 1: Steinar HOLVIK (NOR)
• Assistant Referee 2: Frank ANDAS (NOR)
• Fourth official: Espen BERNTSEN (NOR),

Aos 8 minutos do primeiro tempo, 6 Glenn WHELAN abriu o placar para a seleção da Irlanda. Click to continue reading...

After the international break, the man of the moment is undoubtedly Alberto Gilardino. The Fiorentina striker scored 4 goals in 2 matches with the Azzurri, including the impressive hat trick in 14 minutes vs. Cyprus. He now has 16 goals in 38 appearances (now level with Gianluca Vialli and Luca Toni) for the Azzurri and looks to be the headline striker heading into South Africa this June.

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Alberto Gilardino scored a late hat-trick to rescue world champions Italy as they came back from 2-0 down to beat Cyprus 3-2 here on Wednesday. For 78 minutes the visitors looked likely to pull off an upset against a virtual Italy reserve side until the Fiorentina hit-man's clinical finishes rescued the . Click to continue reading...

Alberto Gilardino scored a late hat-trick to bring Italy back from the brink- back from being 2-0 down to eventually beat Cyprus 3-2 in their world cup qualifier.

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Late Drama

It was the sort of goal that you would expect the team leading 2-1, rather than those chasing the game at the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, to get. Catching the opposition out on the break with a swift counter-attack in the 90th minute to put the gloss on a convincing 3-1 triumph.

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The good ship World Cup is almost ready to set sail for South Africa and the penultimate round of qualifiers ensured eight more countries secured their berth for 2010. Here's how they got there starting off with our first update from
Europe
Reigning champions Italy confirmed they'll be defending their title next year, but only thanks to a last-minute equaliser by Alberto Gilardino in Dublin. Click to continue reading...

England had already qualified before their defeat to the Ukraine - several other teams joined them on Saturday, including Italy after their last gasp equaliser against Ireland. Read on for a full round up of what is left to be decided (when time is short and articles are factual we tend to reproduce the best of the rest - that's the case here, lawyers, we are reprinting an article from the ever-excellent Football365.

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Ireland's dramatic 2-2 draw with Italy may have secured them a 2010 World Cup play-off place but for captain Robbie Keane the result triggered mixed emotions.
Ireland thought they had snatched a win over the world champions when Sean St Ledger put them into a 2-1 lead with three minutes remaining on Saturday. Click to continue reading...

It was a dramatic end to a thrilling encounter at Croke Park. The Italians needed a 90th minute equaliser from substitute Alberto Gilardino to seal Italy's World Cup passage to South Africa.Sean St Ledger's 87th-minute header had almost earned the Irish a famous victory over the Italians. St Ledger said: 'It's great to score a goal for your country but I'm disappointed we didn't win. Click to continue reading...

The UEFA Region had its second to last matchday with some countries needing wins to keep their hopes of traveling to South Africa next summer alive. Some of the key matches were Republic of Ireland v Italy, France v Faroe Islands, and Portugal v Hungary.

Here's a recap of these matches along with video highlights from Saturday, October 10, 2009.

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Two unbeaten sides went head to head in this Group 8 match as Ireland gave Italy a stern test at Croke Park and almost ran out winners after a late goal from Sean St Ledger but Alberto Gilardino scored a last gasp equalizer.

1-0 Whelan

1-1 Camoranesi

2-1 St Ledger

2-2 Gilardino
Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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Richard Dunne made his old club pay, but in the end neither Dunne's Aston Villa or opponent Manchester City could take all three points on Monday.

Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer made the final score 1-1 in an entertaining Monday fixture at Villa Park. Dunne gave Aston Villa a first-half lead on a header scored over former Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, but Bellamy continued his recent run of hot form by netting an equalizer off an Emmanuel Adebayor pass.

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Richard Dunne made his old club pay, but in the end neither Dunne's Aston Villa or opponent Manchester City could take all three points on Monday.

Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer made the final score 1-1 in an entertaining Monday fixture at Villa Park. Dunne gave Aston Villa a first-half lead on a header scored over former Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, but Bellamy continued his recent run of hot form by netting an equalizer off an Emmanuel Adebayor pass.

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What more can be said about Arthur Fonzarelli's Liverpool (and Fernando Torres) on the weekend? A combination of relentless attacking football and a team clearly out of sorts at the back ("Kettle, you're black") left Liverpool three points back from the top with a Sunday trip to Stamford Bridge looming large in league.

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The over-riding reaction at seeing Fiorentina's name being drawn in Liverpool's Champions League group was something of a surprise. Perhaps it is an indication of the falling standards of the Serie A that, where once Italian teams were feared now they are met with a feeling that is somewhat akin to relief. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool will be without midfielders Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun for Tuesday's Champions League Group E clash with Fiorentina.
Mascherano is sick and Benayoun picked up a leg injury against Hull in the 6-1 thrashing of Hull on Saturday.
Mascherano's absence means winger Albert Riera is likely to start. Click to continue reading...

Torres is in find form for the Reds.

This should be an interesting match. You have to think, given Liverpool's Champions League pedigree, that they should not have much of a problem with Italian side Fiorentina.

I wouldn't be so sure.

Fiorentina are an impressive fourth place in the Serie A at this point in the season and have been playing some brilliant football despite losing Melo to Juventus during the summer.

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The Champions League trip to Fiorentina on Tuesday is going to be a real test for the Reds.
The Italians are going well in Serie A and are strong at home. They might have lost their first match away to Lyon but they fought hard after the sending off of Alberto Gilardino and only went down 1-0. Click to continue reading...

After picking up injuries in the 2-0 win over Sampdoria, Fiorentina midfielder Mario Santana and defender Gianluca Comotto are likely to miss the matches against Livorno and Liverpool, according to Rai Sport.
Comotto will definitely miss both matches, being out of action for ten days, but there is a slight chance that Santana may be available for the Champions League match next Tuesday at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Click to continue reading...

Javier Mascherano has escaped disciplinary action following his clash with Jermain Beckford at Elland Road on Tuesday night.
The Liverpool midfielder appeared to strike his Leeds opponent with his arm as they tangled during the Carling Cup third round tie, which the Reds won 1-0.
However, the contact has been deemed accidental and Mascherano will not face a ban for the incident. Click to continue reading...

Due turni. Questa la decisione adottata dall'Uefa nei confronti del calciatore della Fiorentina, Alberto Gilardino (uno dei più completi centravanti della Serie A). Il bomber dovr� , quindi, saltare le prossime due gare di Champions per la gomitata rifilata a Toulalan durante il match con il Lione, disputato (e perso per un gol a zero) il 16 settembre scorso. Click to continue reading...

Group E
Liverpool 1-0 Debrecen -- Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal in the 45th minute for an underwhelming home win for the Reds. The other guys were the Hungarian champs, FYI.
Lyon 1-0 Fiorentina -- Alberto Gilardino was sent off early and the French side took advantage with a 76th minute goal by Miralem Pjanic. Click to continue reading...

Ronaldo's head is proportionate but why the hell the big mitts? At least one good thing to come out of the Eduardo fiasco is diving remains at the foremost of many people's footballing thoughts - some of them even important ones (people, not thoughts). So expect some sort of public outcry the next time an egregious [. Click to continue reading...

Some nice goals this week. We're still very early into the season, but two possible goal of the year candidates were scored this weekend. Samuel Eto'o's strike vs. Parma and Giandomenico Mesto's screamer vs. Napoli are joys to behold. Goals of the week after the jump.

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Wow, writing this match preview feels like déj� vu. Oh wait, it's because I wrote one exactly a year ago, involving the exact same teams and coaches. So here's hoping the outcome (which was a 2-2 last season) is at least more in our favor this time.

September 16, 2009
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
2:45 PM ET (20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT)

Match Background:

I was sorely tempted to copy and paste what I wrote about Fiorentina last year, simply because their squad hasn't gone through any drastic changes since then.

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We have 3 match highlights for you today with Genoa vs Napoli first up, goals and red cards galore,...
Looking to advertise on our site? Want to send us your comments? You can contact us at, owngoalnetwork[at]live[dot]ca Click to continue reading...

With Brazilian� striker Amauri� close to becoming an Italian citizen, it looks like Bayern Munich's Luca Toni will find it quite hard to represent Italy in South Africa. Azzurri Boss Marcello� Lippi has hinted on more than one occasion that Amauri will be very useful for the national team.

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The Serie A is back from the international break and the surprise start of Genoa to the season continued. Genoa defeated Napoli at home 4-1 on the strength of 2 penalty kicks in a game that ended with Genoa's 10 men and Napoli's 9. Ex-Inter forward Hernan Crespo scored his 1st for his new team as Genoa stayed in 1st place with a perfect record. Click to continue reading...

. There were some interesting results in the play-off stage in the Champions League, and some teams progressed with pride into the biggest club competition in Europe, while for some other, it was a case of a slip between the cup and the lip. Cypriot First Division club APOEL FC overturned a 1-0 deficit with a 3-1 [. Click to continue reading...

How can one undo all the good will and sympathies from a near career ending injury within seconds? Do what Eduardo did against Celtic yesterday. From an object of near universal sympathy, he becomes an object of near universal shame and derision. And with this, we need some way of compiling the worst of the worst. Click to continue reading...

To fans of Calcio it's still as vivid as ever: The vision of Fabio Cannavaro lifting the World Cup aloft remains the proudest of Italian memories in a difficult recent history. But with one year to go before the 19th World Cup Final, Cannavaro and his Azzurri have a lot of hard work to do if the national team are to avoid an embarrassing fate in their defence of the trophy.

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