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Italy falls Gabri's 87th-minute goal sends Spain to semis 1-0
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Gabriel "Gabri" Garcia scored off the left post in the 87th minute to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Italy on Saturday night and send it to the Olympic soccer semifinals. The FC Barcelona midfielder, who replaced Raul Tamudo in the 70th minute, brought a capacity crowd to its feet after a largely lifeless match between the European titan. Xavier "Xavi" Hernandez found Gabri unmarked on the right side of the area, and a slow-reacting Bruno Cirillo gave Gabri enough time to send a low skipping shot that hit the inside of the far post and bounced in. "This was a special match," Spanish manager Inaki Saez Ruiz said. "You will always want to win this type of game. After the game, I told my players this is the type of match we will face from here on." The victory sends the Spanish to a Tuesday semifinal against the United States in Sydney and puts them in position for their first gold medal since winning the title at home in 1992. The loss eliminates the European Under-21 champion, which hadn't lost an official match in 2 1-2 years. "When we were playing our best is when they scored the goal against us," Italian manager Marco Tardelli said. "We have no alibis. Nobody is to blame." Tardelli said he felt his team was undermanned. Besides being without the suspended Roberto Baronio, Italy also had to compensate for the loss of Juventus midfielder Gianluca Zambrotta, reportedly sent home due to a knee injury. Before Garcia's goal, the match was a morass of midfield play and hard tackles. Spain's best chance had been in the 62nd minute when Tamudo got off a clear shot from just to the right of the penalty spot that goalkeeper Christian Abbiati was able to block. Italy had its best opportunity in the 33rd when Nicola Ventola ran on to a ball from Gennaro Gattuso, but Spanish keeper Daniel Aranzubia was able to get low and block the shot from just outside the 6-yard area. Ventola also sent a header about a meter wide in the 82nd. The first half was marked with several elbows and hard challenges, three yellow cards and few quality scoring chances. Both sides played very physically, which prohibited either from establishing an offensive rhythm. The rough play began early, with Spanish defender Carlos Puyol hitting Gattuso across the back of the head with a forearm in the second minute. Italian back defender Bruno Cirillo collided with Jose Mari Romero as both challenged for a headball in the eighth minute, leaving Cirillo bleeing from the nose. It wasn't until the 21st minute that Spain's David Albeda earned the first yellow card for a foul on Massimo Ambrosini, but Brazilian referee Carlos Simon was less permissive to start the second half, issuing each side a yellow in the first eight minutes. "This is a great rivalry," Saez Ruiz said. "It's up to the referee. If he lets it go at the beginning the tackles only get harder. But after halftime, the players realized they had o win and it was a much better game in the second half." For the third straight time, Sydney Football Stadium was packed to capacity, this evening with as many Italian and Spanish flags as boxing kangaroo banners, and as many chants of "Ee-tal-ya, Ee-tal-ya" as "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oy, oy, oy." Twice before, Australians jammed Sydney Football Stadium for preliminary round doubleheaders involving both the men's and women's teams, but the prospect of a clash of European heavyweights seemed just as appealing. --- Lineups Italy: Christian Abbiati; Alessandro Grandoni, Marcho Zanchi, Bruno Cirillo; Genaro Gattuso, Massimo Ambrosini, Ighli Vannucchi, Cristiano Zanetti; Gianni Comandini, Nicola Ventola, Andea Pirlo. Spain: Daniel Aranzubia; Jesus La Cruz, Ivan Amaya, Carlos Marchena (Unai Diez, 46th), Carlos Puyol; David Albelda, Xavier 'Xavi' Hernandez, Tony Velamazan; Miguel Angulo, Jose Mari Romero, Raul Tamudo (abriel 'Gabri' Garcia, 70th). Referee: Carlos Simon, Brazil.
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