I piemontesi vincono 3-1 a Taranto e sono primi in attesa di Perugia che nel posticipo ospita Modena. Marchigiani k.o anche a Latina, ora la pausa per il Mondiale. 
| Euro2008: Italy qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 (English/Italian) |
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 World Champion Italy charged into next year's European championship finals thanks to a Christian Panucci injury-time header to win 2-1 away against Scotland in Glasgow.
Luca Toni scored inside the first minute for Italy at Hampden Park but Barry Ferguson's equaliser gave Scotland hope that they could get the win they needed to stand any realistic chance of going through. This was Italy's fourth visit to Scottish soil and they had never won, managing just two draws and a defeat. The first encounter was a 1-0 result on November 9, 1965, followed by a 0-0 in November 1992 and a 1-1 on September 3, 2005. Group B hung in the balance in Glasgow, as a win would automatically qualify Scotland, while defeat would see Italy and France through to Euro 2008. A draw would put the Azzurri in the driving seat ahead of their final game against the Faroe Islands on Wednesday, while Scotland would have to hope Ukraine beat France.
There was driving rain over Glasgow as Italy debuted their new white away strip. The team wore black armbands in honour of Gabriele Sandri, the Lazio fan accidentally shot dead by police last week. The Azzurri could not have asked for a better start! After 69 seconds Antonio Di Natale carried on a Gianluca Zambrotta throw-in for Luca Toni to fire into the near top corner from six yards with the outside of his right foot. Toni netted both goals in the 2-0 home win earlier in Group B and marked his card again. Moments later it should've been 2-0, as Toni held up the ball and crossed back for the unmarked Mauro Camoranesi to blast over the bar. It was a shock opening for the Scots, who had a 100 per cent record on home turf. Fabio Cannavaro celebrated his 112th cap, matching the record set by Dino Zoff. Toni pounced on a misplaced Stephen McManus clearance and his angled drive thumped the side-netting thanks to a Craig Gordon fingertip save. Scotland's first chance came after 15 minutes, as expected, from a set-piece. A free header was charged down and the follow-up from Lee McCulloch deflected wide off Zambrotta's arm, but it was held tight to his torso and the referee waved away penalty appeals. Gigi Buffon punched out another corner and Barry Ferguson drilled over from the edge of the area. Italy were struggling from set plays and another corner found Alan Hutton unmarked for a free header that skimmed the upright. A free kick was cleared poorly and Gigi Buffon got down well to smother a weak Barry Ferguson finish. Italy hit the back of the net for a second time, but it was disallowed for an incorrect offside position. Toni, Camoranesi and Di Natale combined as a series of ricochets finally saw Di Natale blast in from six yards, but the linesman disallowed the goal for offside. Replays show the Udinese star was kept in play by the Scottish defence when Gordon parried Massimo Ambrosini's effort into his path. Andrea Pirlo's free kick came out to Zambrotta whose shot was accidentally charged down by one of his teammates in white, while Camoranesi mistimed a counter-attack pass for Gennaro Gattuso and there was a brief scuffle between Toni and David Weir. Di Natale's clearance almost turned into an assist for McFadden, but Andrea Barzagli perfectly timed a sliding tackle to cut him off when clear on goal. Scotland were about to equalise in the final seconds of the first half. Another Ferguson corner kick found Hutton for a free header that looped over Buffon, but Pirlo got a goalline clearance at the far post to send Italy into the break 1-0 up. The Azzurri threatened after the restart, as Gattuso got away down the right twice in the opening minutes, but Di Natale's volley was charged down by a defensive body. Pirlo's timid free kick was easily gathered, but there was danger when Panucci floated a ball over the top and Zambrotta's cross turned into a looping finish palmed away by Gordon. It had stopped raining, but the pitch was still extremely slippery and players from both sides had trouble keeping their footing. A Scots counter from Hutton earned a free kick from Zambrotta on the edge of the box. McFadden's effort took a double deflection and although Buffon managed to parry the first shot from McCulloch, he could do nothing on the follow-up. However, replays suggest Ferguson was offside and the incorrect decision was made by the same linesman who ruled out Italy's goal in the first half. Donadoni threw on Vincenzo Iaquinta for Di Natale. Buffon rushed out to close down McFadden, getting his hat knocked off but avoiding a potentially dangerous collision. Kenny Miller replaced Scott Brown. Pirlo's long-range free kick bounced just in front of Gordon, but went wide, while McFadden drilled wide at the end of a good Scottish team move. Gattuso was left with a bloody nose and went off for treatment. During this spell Scotland nearly scored on the counter, as McFadden incredibly fired wide of an open goal from seven yards as he came sliding in at the back post. Giorgio Chiellini replaced the tired Camoranesi as the Scots poured forward in the final minutes of their qualifying campaign. Daniele De Rossi came on for Gattuso and immediately won back an important ball in midfield to spark Toni's run. The Bayern Munich star earned a free kick and from Pirlo's set-piece Panucci's diving header at the back post was inches wide of the target, as the Roma defender clattered into the upright. Chiellini's first touch let him down in front of goal, but he earned a free kick near the corner flag. Pirlo chipped up the ball for Panucci's splendid looping header across the face of goal to beat Gordon in the final minute! It was almost 3-1, as Iaquinta cut back for Chiellini's strike that Gordon palmed out from under the crossbar. Scotland: Gordon; Hutton, Weir, McManus, Naysmith; Hartley; Brown (Miller 74), Ferguson, Fletcher, McCulloch (Boyd 92); McFadden Channel4.com In Italian: L'Italia vola agli Europei!, Panucci, gol qualificazione
TONI BUM - Sessantotto secondi per imprimere un segno forte. Di Natale che saetta sulla sinistra e mette in mezzo. Toni che infila: zampata d'autore e la Scozia è già sotto. Camoranesi potrebbe addirittura raddoppiare pochi istanti dopo. Prologo che forse nemmeno Roberto Donadoni si sarebbe sognato. La rete manda all'aria tutti i piani di Alex McLeish, già intenzionato a giocarsela con cervello, senza regalare spazi all'Italia. Ma il bomber di Germania apre una voragine e la Scozia è costretta a mordere subito. Concepita come un 4-1-4-1, con McFadden punta solitaria, la squadra britannica si ricompatta pressando la linea mediana azzurra, ma con scarsi risultati. Perché al 13' Toni potrebbe addirittura firmare il raddoppio, con un bolide sul primo palo deviato in angolo. MADE IN SCOTLAND - La Scozia supera lo choc e dal 16' propone il suo repertorio migliore, monotono ma efficace: pressing, velocità, uomini larghi sulle fasce, pronti a rifornire i saltatori. E qui l'Italia rischia, pur mantenendo i nervi saldi e una buona organizzazione difensiva. Gli scozzesi gridano al rigore, quando Zambrotta sposta la traiettoria con un braccio ben attaccato al corpo. Proteste inutili, perché Mejuto è per l'evidente involontarietà. Momenti duri. La Scozia colleziona angoli. Al 17' Ferguson mira alto, al 18' Hutton di testa sfiora il palo alla destra di Buffon. SAN PIRLO - L'Italia commette l'errore di chiudersi e vai a capire se si tratta di un piano preordinato. Qualcosa sembra incepparsi nei meccanismi del centrocampo e l'occasione capitata al 30' sui piedi di Ferguson è un segnale che gli azzurri memorizzano subito, serrando i ranghi in fase di copertura. Ma è una Scozia che vive di lampi. Appena la Nazionale fa la Nazionale, si sgretolano tutti gli intenti dei padroni di casa, presi in contropiede, come al 31', quando a Di Natale viene annullato un gol apparentemente regolare, dopo una batti e ribatti. Poi l'incredibile occasione mancata da Hutton al 46'; soprattutto lo straordinario salvataggio sulla linea di Pirlo: ennesimo colpo di testa su calcio piazzato; in mancanza d'altro, l'arma più efficace degli scozzesi. Ma l'Italia chiude il primo tempo con la certezza di meritarselo tutto il gol di Toni. GAP - La partenza bruciante degli azzurri nella ripresa conferma un gap tecnico che solo i tifosi dell'Hampden Park non riescono a riconoscere. Se poi anche Gattuso regala numeri di classe allora il cerchio è completo. Sul suo terreno ideale, il rossonero regala una palla al bacio a Di Natale che gira al volo, ma su un difensore piazzato davanti a Gordon. Lo schiaffone sveglia la Scozia che torna a ruminare gioco. All'Italia può andare anche bene, perché in contropiede sfrutta il gioco largo dei britannici. L'ORGOGLIO - Ma se non sono tecnica ed esperienza a dare una mano alla Scozia, ci pensa l'orgoglio a fare la differenza. Così al 20' Ferguson non fallisce da distanza ravvicinata e in fuorigioco, piazzando in rete la palla che Buffon non riesce a trattenere. Donadoni corre subito ai ripari: fuori Di Natale, dentro Iaquinta; un'iniezione di chili in attacco. Il dentro o fuori su entrambi i fronti impone un finale meticoloso. McLeish rinuncia a Brown e punta su Miller, affidandogli la corona del risolutore. Finale da infarto, da lacrime vere. E con la Scozia rabbiosamente in avanti, all'Italia, i cui muscoli cominciano a scricchiolare, non resta che votarsi al sacrificio. La Scozia infila occasioni ed è logico l'avvicendamento fra Camoranesi e Chiellini prima e Gattuso e De Rossi poi. Minuti interminabili e poi l'acuto di Panucci. GAZZETTA 
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