Italy claims fourth title on penalties.
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Fabio Grosso scores the winning penalty kick.
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BERLIN, Jul 9 (SW) - Italy captured their fourth World Cup title on Sunday with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over France after the match finished 1-1 with Zinedine Zidane sent off in his final game.
The French received a serious scare early on when Thierry Henry went down on the ground and looked a bit dazed after a collision with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, suffering from a possible concussion.
However, Henry, after several minutes of medical attention and an ice bag to the head, ran back onto the pitch to the delight of the French bench and supporters.
Things improved quickly for France in the sixth minute when Florent Malouda went down in the area after a nudge from Marco Materazzi, earning a penalty for Zidane.
The French received a serious scare early on when Thierry Henry went down on the ground and looked a bit dazed after a collision with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, suffering from a possible concussion.
However, Henry, after several minutes of medical attention and an ice bag to the head, ran back onto the pitch to the delight of the French bench and supporters.
Things improved quickly for France in the sixth minute when Florent Malouda went down in the area after a nudge from Marco Materazzi, earning a penalty for Zidane.
BERLIN, Jul 9 (SW) - Italy captured their fourth World Cup title on Sunday with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out victory over France after the match finished 1-1 with Zinedine Zidane sent off in his final game.
The French received a serious scare early on when Thierry Henry went down on the ground and looked a bit dazed after a collision with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, suffering from a possible concussion.
However, Henry, after several minutes of medical attention and an ice bag to the head, ran back onto the pitch to the delight of the French bench and supporters.
Things improved quickly for France in the sixth minute when Florent Malouda went down in the area after a nudge from Marco Materazzi, earning a penalty for Zidane.
0-1 Zinedine Zidane 6th minute
Much like he did against Portugal, Zidane stepped up confidently, but this time attempted a chip to the right rather than a power effort.
It nearly backfired on him as although he sent Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon the wrong way, the ball hit the underside of the bar, but crossed the goal line before bouncing out. Nonetheless it was a dream start for the French.
Italy's first chance at an equalizer came on a free kick from the right in the 14th minute as Andrea Pirlo swung the ball into the area, but a flying defensive header by Lilian Thuram forced a corner kick, which came to nothing.
1-1 Marco Materazzi 19th minute
But five minutes later, Italy struck back on another set piece as a perfect corner kick by Pirlo found Materazzi for a header into the goal, atoning for his error when he conceded the penalty.
The action then went back and forth in midfield as both teams looked to take a hold of the tense game, and Materazzi nearly had an identical goal in the 27th minute, but he was whistled for a foul after his header was cleared off the line.
Malouda took a shot at goal in the 31st minute as one of the teams finally created a half-chance from open play, but his shot failed to trouble Buffon, as the Juventus goalkeeper made the save.
Thuram again made a fine defensive play in the 35th minute when Camoranesi slid in a perfect short pass for Francesco Totti, but his shot was blocked by the veteran defender.
It then got even closer for Italy as the ensuing corner found the head of striker Luca Toni, but the ball skipped off of the top of the crossbar and went out, leaving the Fiorentina forward to rue his bad luck.
The pace of the game settled as the second half drew to a close with France looking to control in midfield, and Italy trying to press up the wings whenever they found an opportunity.
Right out of the gates in the second half, Henry took off on a run down the left and managed to scramble past two defenders into the area, but his off-balance shot was weak and rolled to Buffon.
The French, though, struggled to defend another set piece by Italy just three minutes later as Totti took the short kick and crossed in, but Fabio Cannavaro's header was blocked.
A beautiful step by Henry sent him clear of Materazzi and Fabio Grosso, but his cross intended for Franck Ribry was cleared away for a corner as the Italian defense scrambled.
More excellent buildup by France saw Zidane feed Malouda running down the left after the attack was sparked by Ribry, but Malouda was charged down well by Gianluca Zambrotta and he tackled the ball away.
Malouda then fought his way into the area from the left corner in the 55th minute and crossed toward the top of the six-yard box, but the ball was just behind the racing Ribry and it went through.
France were dealt a blow in the 57th minute when holding midfielder Vieira had to be taken off with a hamstring injury, being replaced by the rather inexperienced Alou Diarra.
Toni thought he had given Italy the lead in the 62nd minute when he latched onto a long ball from the left and headed home past Fabien Barthez, but the defender just snuck ahead of the defenders and the goal was disallowed for offside.
Henry then took on veteran Italy defender Cannavaro one-on-one in the 63rd minute just inside the area, but the Arsenal striker hit a shot that Buffon easily slapped away.
Ribry, who became constantly more involved in the second half, took a crack at the go-ahead goal in the 69th minute from about 30 yards out, but the 23-year-old wide midfielder fired high and wide.
Another set piece by Pirlo nearly made it 2-1 to the Azzurri in the 77th minute as a free kick from 30 yards out went up over the wall but flew just wide of the left post with Barthez at full stretch.
Italy made a couple of attacking moves in the second half including the introduction of Vincenzo Iaquinta while Francesco Totti exited, and later Alessandro Del Piero came on for Camoranesi.
With three minutes left, Zidane played the ball to Claude Makelele after a corner had been cleared, but the veteran midfielder lofted a shot from distance almost into the crowd as the game appeared headed for an extra 30 minutes.
Italy made a push in the 89th minute with a long ball up the middle intended for Iaquinta, but the Udinese forward was squeezed off at the top of the area by two French defenders and he wasn't able to get off a shot.
Only two minutes were added to normal time, and those went by with no more goals, sending the 2006 World Cup final to extra-time, the first time since 1994 that a final went beyond 90 minutes.
EXTRA-TIME
Extra-time began with Zidane still on the pitch after he appeared to pick up a shoulder injury towards the end of the second half, but the retiring midfielder was not going to go out on that note.
France took control early on in extra-time as they pressed hard on the Italian defense, but the back four of the Azzurri managed to break up whatever danger arose while Italy's offense struggled to find rhythm.
The Italy defense broke for just a moment in the 100th minute and it nearly cost them as Ribry found the ball inside the area and hit a right-footed shot toward the far post, but it went just barely wide with Buffon beaten.
The influential youngster was then taken off in favor of striker David Trezeguet, who scored the golden goal against Italy in the Euro 2000 final.
Buffon then saved the game for Italy in the 104th minute as Sagnol picked out an unmarked Zidane in the center of the area, but the midfielder's header was acrobatically saved by the goalkeeper.
Referee Horacio Elizondo then blew the whistle on the first 15 minutes of extra-time with the match still searching for another goal and a winnner.
Early in the second half, Raymond Domenech used his final sub to take off Henry and replace him with Sylvain Wiltord, the man who scored the last-gasp equalizer in that Euro 2000 final.
But in the 110th minute, Zidane's career came to an ugly end when he thrusted his head into the midsection of Materazzi, earning a red card after Elizondo consulted with his assistant.
The crowd came to life after the dismissal of the great Zidane, but Italy still couldn't string together much offense, despite France being without Vieira, Zidane and Henry.
There was a buzz in the stadium as Wiltord broke down the right in the 120th minute trying to latch on to a loose ball, but his sliding shot flew over the bar, and the match entered a penalty shoot-out to decide the world champion.
PENALTY SHOOT-OUT
Italy, who lost the penalty shoot-out 3-2 to Brazil in the 1994 final, had the first effort in the 2006 edition and Pirlo slotted it with calm and ease right down the middle with Barthez diving left.
Wiltord stepped up with a chance to equalize and sent Buffon the wrong way as he slotted into the right corner for 1-1.
The goalscorer Materazzi was next for Italy and his shot to the right had too much pace for Barthez to stop. Trezeguet was the next to try to level for France, but his shot crashed off the crossbar and landed on the goalline, but did not cross, giving Italy the advantage.
Daniele De Rossi was next up, and he shot high and to the left past Barthez for a 3-1 lead, and Eric Abidal slotted to the left with Buffon on the right to keep France alive.
Del Piero tried to make it four straight for the Azzurri and he too was spot on from the spot, giving Italy a 4-2 lead.
That meant Sagnol had to score to keep France in the game, and he did for the time being with a shot high and to the right, giving Grosso the chance to win it for Italy.
The left-back, who scored the dramatic winner against Germany in the semi-final, also sent Barthez the wrong way with a shot perfectly placed in the top right corner, giving Italy their fourth World Cup title, 5-3 on penalties.
The French received a serious scare early on when Thierry Henry went down on the ground and looked a bit dazed after a collision with Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro, suffering from a possible concussion.
However, Henry, after several minutes of medical attention and an ice bag to the head, ran back onto the pitch to the delight of the French bench and supporters.
Things improved quickly for France in the sixth minute when Florent Malouda went down in the area after a nudge from Marco Materazzi, earning a penalty for Zidane.
0-1 Zinedine Zidane 6th minute
Much like he did against Portugal, Zidane stepped up confidently, but this time attempted a chip to the right rather than a power effort.
It nearly backfired on him as although he sent Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon the wrong way, the ball hit the underside of the bar, but crossed the goal line before bouncing out. Nonetheless it was a dream start for the French.
Italy's first chance at an equalizer came on a free kick from the right in the 14th minute as Andrea Pirlo swung the ball into the area, but a flying defensive header by Lilian Thuram forced a corner kick, which came to nothing.
1-1 Marco Materazzi 19th minute
But five minutes later, Italy struck back on another set piece as a perfect corner kick by Pirlo found Materazzi for a header into the goal, atoning for his error when he conceded the penalty.
The action then went back and forth in midfield as both teams looked to take a hold of the tense game, and Materazzi nearly had an identical goal in the 27th minute, but he was whistled for a foul after his header was cleared off the line.
Malouda took a shot at goal in the 31st minute as one of the teams finally created a half-chance from open play, but his shot failed to trouble Buffon, as the Juventus goalkeeper made the save.
Thuram again made a fine defensive play in the 35th minute when Camoranesi slid in a perfect short pass for Francesco Totti, but his shot was blocked by the veteran defender.
It then got even closer for Italy as the ensuing corner found the head of striker Luca Toni, but the ball skipped off of the top of the crossbar and went out, leaving the Fiorentina forward to rue his bad luck.
The pace of the game settled as the second half drew to a close with France looking to control in midfield, and Italy trying to press up the wings whenever they found an opportunity.
Right out of the gates in the second half, Henry took off on a run down the left and managed to scramble past two defenders into the area, but his off-balance shot was weak and rolled to Buffon.
The French, though, struggled to defend another set piece by Italy just three minutes later as Totti took the short kick and crossed in, but Fabio Cannavaro's header was blocked.
A beautiful step by Henry sent him clear of Materazzi and Fabio Grosso, but his cross intended for Franck Ribry was cleared away for a corner as the Italian defense scrambled.
More excellent buildup by France saw Zidane feed Malouda running down the left after the attack was sparked by Ribry, but Malouda was charged down well by Gianluca Zambrotta and he tackled the ball away.
Malouda then fought his way into the area from the left corner in the 55th minute and crossed toward the top of the six-yard box, but the ball was just behind the racing Ribry and it went through.
France were dealt a blow in the 57th minute when holding midfielder Vieira had to be taken off with a hamstring injury, being replaced by the rather inexperienced Alou Diarra.
Toni thought he had given Italy the lead in the 62nd minute when he latched onto a long ball from the left and headed home past Fabien Barthez, but the defender just snuck ahead of the defenders and the goal was disallowed for offside.
Henry then took on veteran Italy defender Cannavaro one-on-one in the 63rd minute just inside the area, but the Arsenal striker hit a shot that Buffon easily slapped away.
Ribry, who became constantly more involved in the second half, took a crack at the go-ahead goal in the 69th minute from about 30 yards out, but the 23-year-old wide midfielder fired high and wide.
Another set piece by Pirlo nearly made it 2-1 to the Azzurri in the 77th minute as a free kick from 30 yards out went up over the wall but flew just wide of the left post with Barthez at full stretch.
Italy made a couple of attacking moves in the second half including the introduction of Vincenzo Iaquinta while Francesco Totti exited, and later Alessandro Del Piero came on for Camoranesi.
With three minutes left, Zidane played the ball to Claude Makelele after a corner had been cleared, but the veteran midfielder lofted a shot from distance almost into the crowd as the game appeared headed for an extra 30 minutes.
Italy made a push in the 89th minute with a long ball up the middle intended for Iaquinta, but the Udinese forward was squeezed off at the top of the area by two French defenders and he wasn't able to get off a shot.
Only two minutes were added to normal time, and those went by with no more goals, sending the 2006 World Cup final to extra-time, the first time since 1994 that a final went beyond 90 minutes.
EXTRA-TIME
Extra-time began with Zidane still on the pitch after he appeared to pick up a shoulder injury towards the end of the second half, but the retiring midfielder was not going to go out on that note.
France took control early on in extra-time as they pressed hard on the Italian defense, but the back four of the Azzurri managed to break up whatever danger arose while Italy's offense struggled to find rhythm.
The Italy defense broke for just a moment in the 100th minute and it nearly cost them as Ribry found the ball inside the area and hit a right-footed shot toward the far post, but it went just barely wide with Buffon beaten.
The influential youngster was then taken off in favor of striker David Trezeguet, who scored the golden goal against Italy in the Euro 2000 final.
Buffon then saved the game for Italy in the 104th minute as Sagnol picked out an unmarked Zidane in the center of the area, but the midfielder's header was acrobatically saved by the goalkeeper.
Referee Horacio Elizondo then blew the whistle on the first 15 minutes of extra-time with the match still searching for another goal and a winnner.
Early in the second half, Raymond Domenech used his final sub to take off Henry and replace him with Sylvain Wiltord, the man who scored the last-gasp equalizer in that Euro 2000 final.
But in the 110th minute, Zidane's career came to an ugly end when he thrusted his head into the midsection of Materazzi, earning a red card after Elizondo consulted with his assistant.
The crowd came to life after the dismissal of the great Zidane, but Italy still couldn't string together much offense, despite France being without Vieira, Zidane and Henry.
There was a buzz in the stadium as Wiltord broke down the right in the 120th minute trying to latch on to a loose ball, but his sliding shot flew over the bar, and the match entered a penalty shoot-out to decide the world champion.
PENALTY SHOOT-OUT
Italy, who lost the penalty shoot-out 3-2 to Brazil in the 1994 final, had the first effort in the 2006 edition and Pirlo slotted it with calm and ease right down the middle with Barthez diving left.
Wiltord stepped up with a chance to equalize and sent Buffon the wrong way as he slotted into the right corner for 1-1.
The goalscorer Materazzi was next for Italy and his shot to the right had too much pace for Barthez to stop. Trezeguet was the next to try to level for France, but his shot crashed off the crossbar and landed on the goalline, but did not cross, giving Italy the advantage.
Daniele De Rossi was next up, and he shot high and to the left past Barthez for a 3-1 lead, and Eric Abidal slotted to the left with Buffon on the right to keep France alive.
Del Piero tried to make it four straight for the Azzurri and he too was spot on from the spot, giving Italy a 4-2 lead.
That meant Sagnol had to score to keep France in the game, and he did for the time being with a shot high and to the right, giving Grosso the chance to win it for Italy.
The left-back, who scored the dramatic winner against Germany in the semi-final, also sent Barthez the wrong way with a shot perfectly placed in the top right corner, giving Italy their fourth World Cup title, 5-3 on penalties.