Euro 2012 England vs Italy: Live Report

56 mins: Andrea Pirlo creates attack after attack for Italy. England need to stop the Juventus player having so much of the ball.

55 mins: Andy Carroll, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott are warming up. Barnaby Chesterman reckons Hodgson will bring on Carroll and Walcott in ten or 15 mins.

53 mins: Italy are still pressing. Montelivo and Balzaretti have chances. Thankfully Joe Hart copes easily.

51 mins: A highly-alert John Terry achieves a quick intercept to halt a cross to Balotelli.

48 mins: Marchesio lobs the ball to De Rossi. He can't miss! Oh yes he can. He punts it wide.

46 mins: AFP's Michele Leridon, out and about in Rome, says the ancient streets of the Italian capital have a bizarre look as all the seats outside the cafes are turned inwards so the customers can look at the football on TVs inside.

"Peccato!" meaning "Damn" is a frequent cry as Balotelli misses yet another shot.

1940 GMT: AFP's Katherine Haddon, still reporting from a London pub, tells me: "England fans watching the game in London seem frustrated by the lack of a goal so far." One, Nin Abraham, 40, watching in King's Cross, tells Katherine: "They're not aggressive enough. Rooney's a bit frustrated because he's not getting the ball. I think Roy will do an amazing shakedown in the second half with three subsitutions. They will go to extra time."

1937 GMT: "England are struggling to pick up Montolivo in the hole between forwards and midfeld but Italy have no answer to England's pace. It's an intriguing encounter and it feels like there should be goals in it," says AFP's Chesterman.

"Who will be happier at the break? Well Balotelli and Cassano seemed to be the least pleased at half-time as we've just seen a shot of them arguing as they went down the tunnel, with Pirlo turning around to be peacemaker."

HALF-TIME: England 0 Italy 0

42 mins: Balotelli shoots from further out this time. Still no luck - it goes over the bar again. But, boy, he's doing his best to live up to his "Super Mario" nickname.

41 mins: Pirlo sets up a chance for Balotelli just a few yards out. Someone, looks like Terry, gets the edge of a boot to the shot and the ball flies high over the bar. Balotelli is furious.

39 mins: A stat appears saying Italy have had 60 percent possession and have connected 201 passes to England's 110. I find that hard to believe. England are doing all right.

38 mins: Smart shot from Cassono towards the top right of Hart's goal. The Manchester City keeper manages to reach it, fingering the ball away from danger.

32 mins: Rooney sets up Welbeck with a great chance. His effort veers over the bar. Close, though.

31 mins: Balotelli beats an England offside trap to dash alone towards Hart. Fortunately the ball bounces badly for him and his shot is tame.

27 mins: Barnaby Chesterman wants me to mention Cesare Prandelli. I have to agree that, in contrast with nervous Hodgson, the Italy coach looks as cool and stylih as Giorgio Armani himself.

25 mins: Balotelli is through with only Terry to beat. Phew. Terry manages to punt the ball away and Hart collects it.

24 mins: Casson tries to serve Balotelli with the ball but it drifts to Hart instead.

23 mins: If Roy Hodgson hadn't already bitten his nails to the quick during the group stages he would certainly be biting them deeper now.

19 mins: Italy win a corner. Welbeck heads the ball out to safety.

To put it diplomatically, this is the opposite of the Spanish style of play. It is dispossession football. England are creating frequent chances but so are Italy.

15 mins: Rooney is getting into gear and makes one of his trademark breaks for goal. Ignazio Abate lunges to intercept him.

11 mins: Rooney sets up Welbeck with a neat cross from the left. Leonadro Bonucci gets a leg to it, but has to concede a corner.

10 mins: Roy Hodgson looks worried, but then he always does.

8 mins: "There's a big contingent of England fans over to our left making some noise but whatever handful of Italians there are cannot be heard at all," says AFP's Barnaby Chesterman.

"Two great chances to start the match, that's got the neutrals excited, who are now chanting: Ukraine!"

5 mins: Action at the other end - Glen Johnson has a great chance directly in front of the Italian goal. Gianluigo Buffon has to stretch out his fingers to to tip out Johnson's high shot.

3 mins: Oops - nearly! Daniele De Rossi seizes on a cross from Riccardo Montolivo and slices the ball on to left post with Joe Hart beaten.

2 mins: Balotelli shows his intentions by tapping the ball towards the England goal, as if to say: "This is the first of many". Joe Hart gathers it with ease.

1845 GMT: Italy win the toss and kick off.

1839 GMT: National anthems. Rooney's hair's a mess. What happened to the "weave"?

1833 GMT: "I travelled among unknown men, In lands beyond the sea; Nor, England! did I know till then What love I bore to thee," wrote William Wordsworth..

1831 GMT: At a bar in central London's King's Cross district, expectations among England fans are muted ahead of the game, AFP's Katherine Haddon says.

"I think we will bundle in an early goal then they will equalize then we will bundle in another in extra time. We'll just scrape it," says Mike, 26. His friend Simon predicts a 2-1 win for England, with Rooney scoring the England goals.

1829 GMT: Did you hear Bobby Charlton's prediction as he followed the Olympic torch yesterday: "This is the big game. If they beat Italy then England will win it."

1828 GMT: Barnaby Chesterman reports: "A sign of things to come? Italy wildcard Mario Balotelli almost gets drenched by the sprinklers as he wonders daydreaming around the pitch. Will that be John Terry harrassing Balo from all angles later on?"

1825 GMT: Tonight's meeting is the first between England and Italy in the knockout round of a major championship; they did contest a 3rd/4th play-off at the 1990 World Cup, notes Rob Woollard.

1814 GMT: It's a big year in England for major public events. The Queen's diamond jubilee has already taken place and the London Olympics will start in just a month's time but there is still plenty of excitement about this Euro 2012 match.

Roy Hodgson seems to have given a big lift to England fans as well as the England squad despite the low expectations when he was appointed.

1813 GMT: Several players from both sides will start this match under the threat of suspension having picked up yellow cards in the group phase, Rob Woollard points out.

Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, Ashley Young and James Milner are the men in peril for England; Gianluigi Buffon, Federico Balzaretti, Mario Balotelli, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo, Leonardo Bonucci walk the tightrope for Italy.

1812 GMT: When it comes to flags and banners, England are hugely out-numbering Italy at the moment but the stadium music is drowning out whatever little noise the fans are or aren't making, says AFP's Barnaby Chesterman.

1809 GMT: England players appear on pitch for the warm-up to be greeted by gentle murmur of approval?

1805 GMT: "45 minutes before kick-off in the Olympic Stadium and the atmosphere for the moment is surprisingly quiet," says AFP's Rob Woollard.

"Stadium barely full and the estimated 6,000 England fans expected in Kiev are yet to make their presence felt."

1756 GMT: My AFP colleague James Pheby points out that England defender Joleon Lescott is likely to know a few ways of winding up Manchester City team-mate Mario Balotelli. Could make for some lively clashes.

1749 GMT: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli makes three changes to his starting eleven, with Riccardo Montolivo replacing Thiago Motta, Leonardo Bonucci coming in for Giorgio Chiellini and Mario Balotelli starting in place of Antonio Di Natale.

Motta and Chiellini had both been suffering from hamstring problems while Balotelli impressed after coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 win over Ireland.

1747 GMT: Hodgson names an unchanged side, keeping faith with the starting line-up from last Tuesday's 1-0 win over Ukraine as England aim to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years.

England captain Steven Gerrard resumes his partnership with Scott Parker in central midfield while Hodgson once again opts for James Milner and Ashley Young on the flanks. Wayne Rooney is paired with Manchester United team-mate Danny Welbeck in attack.

1745 GMT: Here are the teams:

England (4-4-2). Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole; James Milner, Scott Parker, Steven Gerrard (capt), Ashley Young; Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck

Coach: Roy Hodgson

Italy (4-3-1-2). Gianluigi Buffon (capt); Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Leonadro Bonucci, Federico Balzaretti; Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Daniele De Rossi; Riccardo Montolivo; Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano

Coach: Cesare Prandelli

Referee: Pedro Proenca (POR)

1741 GMT: Strange that German Chancellor Angela Merkel found time in her equally-busy schedule to go to Gdansk for Friday's quarter-final between Germany and Greece.

Far be it from me to suggest that British PM David Cameron and his ministers lack confidence in the England team and don't want to be associated with failure.

1737 GMT: Britain has not sent any ministers to tonight's match, with Downing Street citing "widespread concerns about selective justice" in Ukraine.

"It reflects ministers' busy schedules ahead of the (London) Olympics and widespread concerns about selective justice and the rule of law in the Ukraine," a spokeswoman said.

1735 GMT: Italy's latest football scandal broke in late May when police made a series of dawn raids as part of a match-fixing investigation.

Investigators even searched the room of national team defender Domenico Criscito at the team hotel near Florence while elsewhere around the country, 19 people, including Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, were arrested.

Criscito, later left out of coach Cesare Prandelli's squad, said he has done nothing wrong. Mauri and Lazio also deny any impropriety.

1731 GMT: The Italian squad's build up to Euro 2012 took place amid fresh corruption allegations in the game, the third time in just over 30 years that the sport has been dragged through the mud in Italy.

In 1980 top teams including AC Milan and Lazio were relegated from the top flight for their part in the "Totonero" match-fixing affair.

Then in 2006 Juventus suffered the same fate and were also stripped of their 2005 and 2006 Serie A crowns for trying to influence the referees' commission.

1726 GMT: Balotelli says his goal for Italy against Ireland means he has already answered his critics.

"I don't have to show anything to anyone, not to England, not to Italy and not to anyone," he told jouranlists.

"I'm not a Super Mario or a Stupid Mario, I'm just Mario and those who know me, know who I (really) am."

1721 GMT: Hodgson says: "The particular challenge with Italy is in the midfield area where they have a lot of very gifted and experienced players, players who are technically good on the ball, and they're basically a central team," Hodgson said.

"We're going to have to be careful we don't get outnumbered in that area and they don't play around us ... We have to be aware of that."

1719 GMT: Italy's veteran midfielder Daniele De Rossi believes England still bear the hallmark of former coach Fabio Capello while remaining under the influence of former Inter Milan manager Hodgson.

"England are a very Italian team," De Rossi said. "You can see the signs, from Fabio Capello to now, with Hodgson.

"One is Italian, one worked in Italian football. Hodgson was managing in Italy with Inter Milan, so his teams know how to play defensively and then attack. They will have very good players on the flanks but also be a really compact team. It won't be easy."

1717 GMT: EvenCesare Prandelli admits he believes England have found the "right equilibrium", though the Italy coach also maintains the Azzurri have nothing to fear.

1716 GMT: A potential headache for Hodgson is that no fewer than five key players are walking a disciplinary tightrope heading into the match.

Young, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all just one booking away from missing a potential semi-final against Germany.

1714 GMT: Rooney's United young team-mate Danny Welbeck has played well so far, scoring the winner against Sweden. Can he keep up his strong showing after being thrown in at the England deep end?

Theo Walcott and Ashley Young have done well on the England wings. Can they be relied on again or will nerves strike?

1713 GMT: The impact that England's forwards will make is equally hard to predict. Wayne Rooney scored the winner against Ukraine but his lack of match practice was apparent, after he was suspended for the France and Sweden games. Will he be sharper this time?

1712 GMT: That's very interesting but that's not what we really want to know about Italy is it? The key question is what is Mario Balotelli in? The mercurial Manchester City striker creates as many headlines off the pitch as on and we are all waiting to see how Mario plays against Roy's Boys.

Will Balotelli be on fire, like his bathroom after fireworks went off in it, or will his performance be a car crash, like when he pranged his Bentley in Manchester city centre in April?

1709 GMT: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has been forced to reshuffle his defence following the injury to rugged centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, who is likely to be replaced by Leonardo Bonucci.

1707 GMT: After winning Group D ahead of highly-rated France and extending their unbeaten run to five games, England have a mounting sense of belief that they can prolong their stay in the tournament.

"If we can go about the job in the way we are doing at the moment we will make a game of it and who knows what will happen," says Hodgson.

1705 GMT: England are attempting to reach the last four of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years.

The burgeoning confidence within Roy Hodgson's youthful squad is tempered by the knowledge that England have rarely progressed beyond the last eight of major tournaments, with three quarter-final exits in the past 10 years alone.

WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the last Euro 2012 quarter-final, between England and Italy. The match kicks off in Kiev at 1845 GMT. Stay with us for all the team news and the build up to the match

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