Azzurri out 'with heads held high'

ITALY coach Giovanni Trapattoni praised the performance of his players and prepared for a night of video-watching as his side bowed out of Euro 2004.

The veteran boss was made aware of Sweden's late equaliser against Denmark which secured the 2-2 draw which all Italy dreaded.

It was the result which meant Italy were sure to go out, whatever their result, and assured the Swedes and Danes of their places in the last eight.

So Antonio Cassano's late goal, just seconds after the final whistle sounded in the all-Scandinavian clash, counted for almost nothing as he clinched a 2-1 win for Italy against Bulgaria in Denmark.

Trapattoni was eager to check out the Sweden-Denmark match, to be sure there was no wrongdoing.

Those present were suitably satisfied that neither side had played for theresult. Trapattoni said: "We are going out of the tournament with our heads held high. I am satisfied with my players' performance and with the work they have done tonight.

"But unfortunately the other group results have not favoured us. I cannot comment on the other group result between Denmark and Sweden until I've watched the game."

As for his future in the game, Trapattoni insisted he has no intention of retiring, even though this may prove to be his last match in charge of the national team.

He added: "My contract with the Italian Football Federation ends on July 15 and the future opens many doors."

Italy dominated the early stages but it took them 14 minutes before they could test Bulgaria goalkeeper Zdravko Zdravkov.

Cassano's fine cross from the right side found an unmarked Stefano Fiore, whose acrobatic shot from close range was superbly parried by Zdravkov but only as far as Alessandro del Piero, whose attempt went narrowly wide

Five minutes later, Bernardo Corradi should have given his side the lead. Gianluca Zambrotta's perfect cross into the box was flicked on by Cassano but Corradi headed straight at Zdravkov.

In the 29th minute, Martin Petrov finally tested goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with a powerful left-footed effort from the edge of the area.

One minute before the break, disaster struck for the Azzurri when Russian referee Valentin Ivanov pointed to the spot after defender Marco Materazzi held on to Petrov inside the area.

And it was Petrov whose precise shot towards the left post beat Buffon to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Their celebrations did not last long, however. Three minutes after the restart, Zdravkov spilled the ball after Cassano had struck the crossbar and Perrotta pounced to score. The goal brought Italy alive and they made their first substitution on 53 minutes, with Vieri replacing Corradi.

The Inter Milan forward could have given his team the lead, but his forced header following Andrea Pirlo's precise cross went off-target. Del Piero should have made it 2-1 in the 68th minute but his shot from the box went straight to Zdravkov's hands.

With 12 minutes left Zambrotta tried his luck from distance but his shot was deflected wide by a Bulgarian defender.

Dimitar Berbatov could then have finished off Italy from a free kick, had Buffon made a superb save.

With one minute left, Italy took the lead with Cassano's close-range shot finishing in the net but the players' celebrations soon ended with Trapattoni confirming their worst nightmare had taken place in Porto.

ITALY: Buffon, Panucci, Nesta, Materazzi (di Vaio 83), Zambrotta, Fiore, Pirlo, Perrotta (Oddo 68), Cassano, Del Piero, Corradi (Vieri 53).

BULGARIA: Zdravkov, Borimirov, Pazhin (Kotev 64), Zagorchich, Stoyanov, Milen Petkov, Yankovich (Bojinov 45), Hristov (Dimitrov 79), Lazarov, Martin Petrov, Berbatov.

Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia).