Group C - 13 June 2008 - Zürich - Letzigrund
Buffon saves Italy with penalty stop
by Michael Harrold from Letzigrund Stadion

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon superbly saved Adrian Mutu's penalty with nine minutes remaining to keep the world champions' UEFA EURO 2008™ hopes alive as the Azzurri and Romania battled out a breathless draw in Zurich.

Penalty drama
Buffon dived to his left to block the ACF Fiorentina striker's stinging drive with his arm and foot after Christian Panucci had held back Daniel Niculae in the area. Defeat would have left Italian ambitions on a knife-edge but in a free-flowing match they delivered a perfect response to Mutu's 55th-minute opener as Panucci levelled a minute later. It salvaged a crucial point, which kept Italy in Group C contention before their reprise of the FIFA World Cup final against France on Thursday when Romania play the Netherlands.  

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Photo gallery

Team statistics

Italy Romania
1Goals scored1
2Yellow card3
0Red card0
4Shots on goal5
5Shots wide5
12Fouls committed19
12Corners5
6Offsides4
34' 57''Ball. Poss. (time)30' 53''
53%Ball. Poss. (%)47%

Group C

TeamsPld+/-Pts
NetherlandsNetherlands 389
ItalyItaly 3-14
RomaniaRomania 3-22
FranceFrance 3-51
Key:
Pld
Matches played
+/-
Goal difference
Pts
Points
Last updated: 30/07/2008 14:26 CET

Other matches

Italy

09/06/2008 - Netherlands0 - 3
17/06/2008 - France2 - 0
22/06/2008 - Spain0 - 0*

Romania

09/06/2008 - France0 - 0
17/06/2008 - Netherlands0 - 2

Other match of the day

Netherlands - France4 - 1