Salvador: Italy secured the third spot in the Confederations Cup after a pulsating 3-2 penalty shootout victory here over Uruguay.
After a 2-2 scoreline at the end of extra time on Sunday, Gianluigi Buffon saved shots from Diego Forlan, Martin Caceres and Walter Gargano to hand Italy the consolation prize at the World Cup warmup tournament, Xinhua reports.
Earlier, Davide Astori gave Italy the lead with a 24th minute strike that went in off the post before Edinson Cavani equalised just before the hour.
Alessandro Diamanti regained the lead for Cesar Prandelli’s side with a superb free-kick but Cavani again tied the scores with another unstoppable shot from a set piece.
Suarez released Forlan with a 40m pass in the fifth minute but the former Manchester United striker’s cross was just out of Cavani’s reach. Forlan then tested Buffon’s reflexes with a powerful free-kick under the Italy wall.
The Azzurri broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when Diamanti’s free-kick from the right cannoned off the far post before being bundled in by Astori. It marked the first time that goal-line technology has been used to adjudicate a goal in an international match.
Uruguay pressured Italy’s defence early in the second half and were rewarded when Cavani ran onto Gargano’s pass and slotted past Buffon.
Buffon then negated Forlan with a stunning double save. The Juventus veteran parried away the striker’s powerful right-footed shot before blocking the 34-year-old’s rebounded effort with his legs.
In the extra time Uruguay looked most likely to score as Italy showed signs of fatigue. (Reuters)