Italy v Sweden, 19 June 2000

Score2-1 to Italy
Referee Vítor Melo Pereira
CompetitionUEFA European Championship Finals Group B
VenuePhilips Stadium, Eindhoven
Attendance30,000
Kick Off: 20:45 Local (19:45 BST) Assistant referees: Jacques Poudevigne (France) Dramane Dante (Mali) Fourth official: Gilles Veissière (France) Man of the Match: Henrik Larsson (Sweden) Sweden gave their all in an attempt to salvage their UEFA EURO 2000 hopes but Italy, despite resting eight regulars, proved too strong. Alessandro Del Piero sealed their exit in an absorbing finale set up when man-of-the-match Henrik Larsson cancelled out Luigi Di Biagio's opening strike. Kennet Andersson fired just over but time ran out for Sweden with two minutes left when Del Piero burst through to score with a wonderful drive into the top corner of the net. Tommy Söderberg's side started positively and almost took a tenth-minute lead when Johan Mjallby headed Fredrik Ljungberg's corner past Francesco Toldo, only for Angelo Di Livio to clear off the line. Italy soon had another let-off as Ljungberg raced clean through before shooting wide with only Toldo to beat. The Azzurri rearguard was wobbling as Patrik Andersson's header from another corner flew over. Sweden's forthright approach ran the risk of exposure to the counterattack, a threat highlighted by Vincenzo Montella, when he pounced on slack defending to lift his final effort over the bar. Italy lacked urgency but found a breakthrough when Di Biagio brilliantly glanced Del Piero's corner in at the near post. The Azzurri continued to soak up the pressure and almost conceded when Alessandro Nesta was dispossessed by Larsson; he teed up Yksel Osmanovski, who was denied by Toldo. Another chance slipped by on 70 minutes when Larsson found Kennet Andersson at the far post only for Toldo to block. Swedish persistence paid off six minutes later when Kennet Andersson threaded a ball through for Larsson and the tireless Celtic FC striker rounded the goalkeeper to clip in a deserved equaliser and set up for a thrilling finish. It was Del Piero, though, who had the final word.

2  Italy

Manager: Dino Zoff

1  Sweden

Manager: Tommy Soderberg/Lars Lagerback

Goals:

Luigi Di Biagio 38 G
Alessandro Del Piero 88 G

Goals:

Henrik Larsson 76 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Francesco Toldo
Defender Ciro Ferrara
Defender Mark Iuliano
Defender Paolo Maldini (captain)
Defender Paolo Negro
Midfielder Massimo Ambrosini
Midfielder Luigi Di Biagio
Midfielder Angelo Di Livio
Midfielder Gianluca Pessotto

Starting lineup:

Magnus Hedman Goalkeeper
Patrik Andersson Defender (captain)
Olof Mellberg Defender
Johan Mjällby Defender
Freddie Ljungberg Midfielder
Hakan Mild Midfielder
Magnus Svensson Midfielder
Henrik Larsson Forward

Substitutions:

Alessandro Nesta for Paolo Maldini 41
Fabio Cannavaro for Mark Iuliano 46
Stefano Fiore for Angelo Di Livio 64

Substitutions:

Niclas Alexandersson for Magnus Svensson 51
Daniel Andersson for Johan Mjällby 55
Kennet Andersson for Tomas Antonelius-Gustafsson 75

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Christian Abbiati
Goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli
Defender Fabio Cannavaro
Defender Alessandro Nesta
Midfielder Demetrio Albertini
Midfielder Antonio Conte
Midfielder Stefano Fiore
Forward Filippo Inzaghi
Forward Francesco Totti

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Mattias Asper
Goalkeeper Magnus Kihlstedt
Defender Daniel Andersson
Defender Teddy Lučić
Defender Roland Nilsson
Defender Gary Sundgren
Midfielder Anders Andersson
Forward Marcus Allbäck

2  Italy

Manager: Dino Zoff

Goals:

Luigi Di Biagio 38 G
Alessandro Del Piero 88 G

Starting lineup:

Goalkeeper Francesco Toldo
Defender Ciro Ferrara
Defender Mark Iuliano
Defender Paolo Maldini (captain)
Defender Paolo Negro
Midfielder Massimo Ambrosini
Midfielder Luigi Di Biagio
Midfielder Angelo Di Livio
Midfielder Gianluca Pessotto

Substitutions:

Alessandro Nesta for Paolo Maldini 41
Fabio Cannavaro for Mark Iuliano 46
Stefano Fiore for Angelo Di Livio 64

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Christian Abbiati
Goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli
Defender Fabio Cannavaro
Defender Alessandro Nesta
Midfielder Demetrio Albertini
Midfielder Antonio Conte
Midfielder Stefano Fiore
Forward Filippo Inzaghi
Forward Francesco Totti

1  Sweden

Manager: Tommy Soderberg/Lars Lagerback

Goals:

Henrik Larsson 76 G

Starting lineup:

Magnus Hedman Goalkeeper
Patrik Andersson Defender (captain)
Olof Mellberg Defender
Johan Mjällby Defender
Freddie Ljungberg Midfielder
Hakan Mild Midfielder
Magnus Svensson Midfielder
Henrik Larsson Forward

Substitutions:

Niclas Alexandersson for Magnus Svensson 51
Daniel Andersson for Johan Mjällby 55
Kennet Andersson for Tomas Antonelius-Gustafsson 75

On the bench:

Goalkeeper Mattias Asper
Goalkeeper Magnus Kihlstedt
Defender Daniel Andersson
Defender Teddy Lučić
Defender Roland Nilsson
Defender Gary Sundgren
Midfielder Anders Andersson
Forward Marcus Allbäck