World champion Italy beat 10-man France 2-0 in Group C on Tuesday to qualify for the quarterfinals of Euro 2008. It was a nightmare of a match for France who lost Franck Ribery to a suspected broken leg and had Eric Abidal sent off before halftime as it was eliminated from the competition. Italy made the breakthrough when Andrea Pirlo lashed home a 25th minute penalty after Abidal was red carded for hauling down striker Luca Toni as he prepared to shoot. Daniele De Rossi made it 2-0 after 62 minutes when he smashed in a shot following a rehearsed free-kick routine, with his drive taking a deflection off France striker Thierry Henry to leave goalkeeper Gregory Coupet wrong-footed. Victory sent Italy through to a quarterfinal against Spain on Sunday in Vienna. Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said: “It was a good performance. Perhaps we were playing better 11 against 11. After that, a bit of fear and nerves came in, but today it was a great response from all the lads. I never had any doubts. I knew that it would turn out like this. We've got a great group that really sticks together and has the right spirit.” Looking ahead to the last eight game, Donadoni added: “Spain are a great team. We've got to be ready for them. The further we go the more difficult it'll be. But we'll be ready for them.” France coach Raymond Domenech said: “I am proud of my players. They fought until the very end despite the incidents, the penalty, the deflected free kick. They showed energy. That team has a future. “I have a lot of regrets. That team had guts, showed courage, unselfishness and talent. But the circumstances made it tough. Playing with 10 men for an hour, Franck being injured after 10 minutes, just one substitution possible after half an hour, that's tough.” The match turned after only nine minutes when Ribery, France's inspirational playmaker, was seriously injured in a clumsy challenge on Gianluca Zambrotta. He immediately held his left leg in agony and was driven away on a medical cart with a suspected broken left leg. France's problems got even worse when Pirlo scored from the penalty after Abidal's dismissal. In a bid to redress the balance of his side, France coach Raymond Domenech, who had sent on Samir Nasri to replace Ribery after 10 minutes, then replaced Nasri after Abidal's dismissal and brought on defender Jean-Alain Boumsong. But the gap left by Ribery's absence allowed Italy to largely dominate in midfield and between them Pirlo, De Rossi, Gennaro Gattuso and Antonio Cassano created three good chances for Toni to score before halftime. Fabio Grosso also went close when he thumped in a 43rd minute free kick which keeper Gregory Coupet touched onto his right-hand post. Pirlo and Gattuso were both booked and will miss the game with Spain on Sunday. – Reuters __
