Recife, Brazil: Substitute Sebastian Giovinco tapped in a late goal to secure Italy a thrilling 4-3 win over Japan on Wednesday and a semi-final berth in the Confederations Cup.
Giovinco slotted home the winner in the 86th minute after latching onto a cross in the area, capping a pulsating contest that saw the Azzurri edge ahead with three consecutive goals after trailing 2-0 before halftime.
Shinji Okazaki nodded a lovely, glancing header past Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon from a Yasuhito Endo free kick to level at 3-3 in the 69th minute, and Japan tried desperately to respond to Giovinco's late score in a frenetic finish but to no avail.
Italy join Brazil in the semi-finals and might consider themselves lucky after starting poorly and benefiting from an own-goal by Japan defender Atsuto Uchida....
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06:53 AM, Jun 20, 2013
Eastbourne: Marion Bartoli of France has withdrawn from the Eastbourne grass-court tournament with a viral infection, giving No. 2-seeded Li Na of China a walkover into the quarter-finals. Bartoli, the 2011 champion, reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Flavia Pennetta of Italy on Monday. Later on Wednesday, 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany was paired against 2010 champion Elena Makarova of Russia and Czech Petra Kvitova...
04:20 PM, Jun 19, 2013
Recife, Brazil: Mario Balotelli is so unpredictable that even his coach has trouble keeping tabs on the prized Italy striker. Balotelli's winning goal in the Azzurri's 2-1 win over Mexico at the Confederations Cup was a prime example. The goal showed off Balotelli's combination of brute strength and sheer athleticism. But the AC Milan striker immediately took away some of the moment's lustre by stripping off his shirt, earning a...
09:04 AM, Jun 19, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said he was frustrated with Mario Balotelli after the striker's shirtless goal celebration in the Azzurri's 2-1 victory over Mexico in the Confederation Cup. Chilean referee Enrique Osses cautioned Balotelli after the 21-year-old followed his 77th-minute winner on Sunday by repeating the flexed-muscle pose he made famous during last year's European Championships, reports Xinhua. The AC Milan forward was immediately benched by Prandelli...
12:37 PM, Jun 17, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: Mario Balotelli scored the winner in Italy's 2-1 victory over Mexico on Sunday at the Confederations Cup. In the 78th minute, Balotelli collected a perfectly placed acrobatic pass from Emanuele Giaccherini and muscled in between two defenders to break the deadlock in the first official match at the renovated Maracana Stadium. Celebrating his 100th appearance with the national team, Andrea Pirlo had given Italy the lead with...
02:36 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Rio De Janeiro: Italy's star forward Mario Balotelli exited the training pitch with a right leg muscle problem, two days before the Azzurri open their Confederations Cup campaign against Mexico. The Italian football federation said that Balotelli walked off a closed training session with team physician Enrico Castellacci but that it was only for precautionary reasons and related to a previous physical problem. Castellacci will evaluate the problem further on...
12:27 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Rio de Janerio: On the field, the Confederations Cup can give Brazil's national team a major boost in their quest to win a sixth World Cup title next year. Off the field, the eight-team tournament will offer the first hints about where the country stands in their preparations for the main event in 2014. Brazil have won the last two Confederations Cup titles - in 2005 and 2009. And while...
12:52 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Los Angeles: It's all about the games for Nintendo. Instead of a typical flashy presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the Japanese gaming giant opted to showcase several games for its Wii U system during a brief Tuesday presentation at its booth on the show floor of the gaming industry's annual trade show. "Today is different," Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime told those gathered inside the behemoth white structure....
09:33 AM, Jun 12, 2013
Italy striker Mario Balotelli apologised for his red card and furious reaction in their World Cup qualifier away to the Czech Republic on Friday with coach Cesare Prandelli telling him he must to get used to being provoked. "Good morning. Yesterday my reaction was not the right one, I offer an apology," Balotelli wrote on his Twitter account. "SORRY...to my team...I need to learn...still." He was dismissed in the second...
10:56 PM, Jun 08, 2013
Paris: Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone easily beat 13th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 6-2, 6-1 to reach the fourth round of the French Open on Saturday. The Italian won at Roland Garros three years ago but is unseeded at this year's tournament. She broke Bartoli's serve five times overall and had 31 winners, compared to just nine for 2007 Wimbledon finalist Bartoli. Bartoli won a long sixth game in...
08:28 PM, Jun 01, 2013
Bologna: Leave Mario Balotelli alone. That's the message from Italy coach Cesare Prandelli a day after the striker was accused of drug dealing by a confessed member of the Neopolitan Camorra crime group. Speaking to Italian state TV on Friday ahead of a friendly with San Marino, Prandelli said: "It's intolerable to keep coming after him and dragging him into every situation." The accusation came during testimony in a money...
05:33 PM, May 31, 2013
Florence: Mario Balotelli has back pain and will sit out Italy's friendly with San Marino on Friday, joining striker partner Stephan El Shaarawy on the injured list. Italy physician Enrico Castellacci says the plan is for Balotelli to return for next week's World Cup qualifier at the Czech Republic. After hosting San Marino in Bologna, Italy visits the Czechs in Prague on June 7. Balotelli trained apart from the rest...
07:58 PM, May 29, 2013
Paris: Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli did her best to lift the gloom hanging over a rainy Roland Garros on Tuesday after putting herself and the shivering home fans through agonies in a three-hour victory over Olga Govortsova. The 13th seed scraped into the second round, clinching a 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-5 win on her fifth match point after producing groans from the Chatrier crowd when she double-faulted on her first. On a...
08:38 AM, May 29, 2013
Florence: Stephan El Shaarawy will sit out Italy's friendly against San Marino on Friday due to a bruised right ankle. His strike partner at AC Milan, Mario Balotelli, should be able to play despite back pain. El Shaarawy was injured during training Monday in a collision with defender Angelo Ogbonna. Italy team physician Enrico Castellacci said Tuesday that El Shaarawy should be able to return in time for a World...
05:56 PM, May 28, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, leaving the team without one of their best players. Dortmund confirmed on Wednesday that Goetze will not be fit in time to face his future club at Wembley Stadium in London. It would have been the 20-year-old Goetze's last game for Dortmund before his 37-million euro switch...
09:05 PM, May 22, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze pulled out of training on his comeback from a hamstring injury Tuesday, putting his participation in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in doubt. Goetze took part in individual jogging exercises in the morning before joining the team session in the afternoon, but he could only complete an hour with teammates before withdrawing. German magazine Kicker reported that Goetze's injured right hamstring that...
11:09 PM, May 21, 2013
Florence: Italy must adopt a zero tolerance policy towards racism in football if they are to eradicate the problem from the sport, national team coach Cesare Prandelli said on Monday. A number of Italian clubs have been punished for racist incidents recently. "It is a serious problem, a problem that is not only the national team's or Milan's but Italian football's," Prandelli said. "If we want to be credible on...
09:15 AM, May 21, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's central defender Mats Hummels is expected to recover from an ankle injury in time to play in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Hummels twisted his right ankle in the 2-1 home loss to Hoffenheim in the final round of the Bundesliga on Saturday. Team doctor Markus Braun says Hummels being on the field Saturday at Wembley is "absolutely realistic." Hummels told Sport Bild magazine the...
04:11 PM, May 20, 2013
