Italy 2 - Ireland 0: Italy Advances

With everything on the line, Italy advanced to the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 by decisively defeating Ireland 2-0.  After two draws, Italy needed a victory in order to advance.  The pressure was on the Italians, and they stepped up in every way.  Although the Irish created a few good scoring opportunities, the Italians had significantly more.

From the opening whistle, the Italians dictated the pace.  They dominated possession but were unable to slide one past the Irish keeper.  They finally broke the deadlock in the 35^th minute off of an Andrea Pirlo corner kick that Antonio Cassano headed just over the goal line.  The goal seemed to relax the Italians.  If they protected the lead, they would advance. 

At the outset of the second half, the Italians looked to put the game away with a second goal.  They threatened numerous times, but the Irish defense held strong.  After this initial onslaught, the Irish began pushing forward and nearly got the equalizer off of a free kick.  However, Gianluigi Buffon came up with a great save. 

Sensing that the Irish were on the verge of scoring, Cesare Prandelli sent on the talented Mario Balotelli to change the tide.  The move paid dividends as another Andrea Pirlo corner kick was converted into a goal in the 90^th minute.  This time Balotelli scored off of a terrific volley.  Balotelli struggled to score in the initial games, so this should boost his confidence.  With the final whistle, the Italians move on, while the Irish go home.

The Irish can take some pride in how they finished the tournament.  As opposed to their first two games, the defense played well.  The goals they surrendered were on set pieces.  Offensively, they were just overwhelmed.  Their style of play is not suited to compete against teams of such high quality.  They are unable to hold possession for lengthy periods of time.  Their attacking strategy is the long ball, which usually leads to the opposition taking back possession.  They simply do not have the playmakers to compete.  In order for them to succeed, they need to score an early goal off of a set piece and then take on a bunker mentality and defend.  Unfortunately for them, they surrendered the opening goal in each game.

Meanwhile, the Italians showed plenty of quality today and throughout the group phase.  This is certainly a new Italy.  The defense played very well today.  The team implemented a high-pressure defensive system from the opening whistle.  The outside defenders consistently joined the attack, providing overlapping runs down the wing throughout.  It was great to watch.  Federico Balzaretti and Andrea Barzagli never stopped running. In the midfield, Daniele De Rossi was awesome, while Andrea Pirlo is still deadly off of set pieces.  While everyone is applauding Antonio Cassano for his performance, I am not impressed.  I do not like his style, or athleticism.  The Irish gave him entirely way too much respect by allowing him so much time and space to play the ball.  He is not Cristiano Ronaldo.  If a defense plays him tight, he will be ineffective.  Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli made the most of his fifteen minutes.  He is an absolute game changer.  His pace, size, skill, and vision make him stand out.  He provides another dimension for the Italians that is difficult for any team to defend against.  They do not have another player like him.  However, he is powder keg.  He nearly exploded after his goal, but his teammates calmed him down.  If they can keep doing that, then Italy’s going to be trouble for everyone in their path.