A late Giampaolo Pazzini goal gives Italy victory over Slovenia and more importantly a place in the Euro 2012 finals.
Substitute Giampaolo Pazzini scored in the 85th minute to give Italy a 1-0 win over Slovenia and qualification for Euro 2012 with two matches to spare on Tuesday.
Italy hold an insurmountable eight-point lead over Serbia in Group C.
The Azzurri have 22 points, Serbia 14, Estonia 13, Slovenia 11, Northern Ireland nine and the Faeroe Islands four.
With the stands half-empty at the Artemio Franchi stadium, the atmosphere was stale until Pazzini's goal. Fellow substitute Mario Balotelli then nearly doubled the lead with two more chances in the final five minutes as the crowd finally grew to life.
With seven wins and a draw in qualifying, Italy have conceded just one goal - to Sergei Zenjov during Italy's 2-1 win over Estonia a year ago in their first qualifier - while managed by Cesare Prandelli.
With a players' strike having wiped out the opening weekend of Serie A, Italy also struggled to find the target for long stretches in a 1-0 win over the Faeroe Islands on Friday. This time, though, Prandelli's subsitutions paid off, and the Azzurri can now play their final two qualifiers against Serbia and Northern Ireland without any pressure.
Substitute Giampaolo Pazzini scored in the 85th minute to give Italy a 1-0 win over Slovenia and qualification for Euro 2012 with two matches to spare on Tuesday.
The Azzurri have 22 points, Serbia 14, Estonia 13, Slovenia 11, Northern Ireland nine and the Faeroe Islands four.
With the stands half-empty at the Artemio Franchi stadium, the atmosphere was stale until Pazzini's goal. Fellow substitute Mario Balotelli then nearly doubled the lead with two more chances in the final five minutes as the crowd finally grew to life.
With seven wins and a draw in qualifying, Italy have conceded just one goal - to Sergei Zenjov during Italy's 2-1 win over Estonia a year ago in their first qualifier - while managed by Cesare Prandelli.
With a players' strike having wiped out the opening weekend of Serie A, Italy also struggled to find the target for long stretches in a 1-0 win over the Faeroe Islands on Friday. This time, though, Prandelli's subsitutions paid off, and the Azzurri can now play their final two qualifiers against Serbia and Northern Ireland without any pressure.
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