Italy secured their qualification for the next round of 16 teams as Group E winners after beating the Czech Republic 2-0 in Hamburg yesterday. Just minutes after the match finished prosecutors in Italy filed match fixing charges against four Serie A clubs. Marcello Lippi's side will face Australia, the second-placed team from Group F in Kaiserslautern on 26 June.

The Czechs, who head home early after finishing third in the group, played the whole second half with ten men after the dismissal of Jan Polak moments before the break following a second yellow card. Marco Materazzi, an early replacement for the injured Alessandro Nesta, put the Azzurri on course for victory when he headed past Petr Cech in the 26th minute and his fellow substitute Filippo Inzaghi sealed the three points three minutes from the end.

The Match

9': Pavel Nedved started impressively for the Czechs and he laid a neat pass for Milan Baros to chase. However the striker's rustiness after missing the first two games was apparent as his first touch narrowed his angle and allowed Gianluigi Buffon to make the block.

12': Nedved continued his dominance of the game and shot left-footed, forcing his Juventus team-mate Buffon to go down smartly to make another save.

16': Nedved shot again and this time the goalkeeper was unable to hold onto the ball. Luckily for Italy, Buffon was up again smartly to deny Marek Jankulovski from seizing onto the rebound.

17': A blow for Italy as Nesta was forced to depart with an injury. On came Materazzi.

25': Italy had been pinned back in the early stages but now they had their first sight of the Czech goal as Gennaro Gattuso headed over.

26': A goal against the run of play as Francesco Totti floated a corner to the far post where Materazzi, who had been on the field only eight minutes, rose majestically to direct his header inside Cech's near post. (0-1)

45+2': Italy's goal rocked the Czechs after their early dominance. Another setback for Karel Bruckner's men arrived in added time at the end of the first half when Jan Polak went in clumsily on Totti and picked up a second yellow card, forcing the Czechs to play the entire second half with ten men.

46': The Czechs made one chage at half-time with Karel Poborsky withdrawn in favour of Jiri Stajner.

49': Relatively quiet in the first half, Totti was playing a stronger role at the start of the second period and forced Cech to deal with his shot.

53': Totti threatened again with a better effort. This time Cech tipped the ball over and moments later the action switched to the other end where Buffon denied Nedved from point-blank range.
 

56': Fabio Cannavaro, up in support of his attack, sent a volley too high following an Andrea Pirlo pass.

64': In the next Italy attack Mauro Camoranesi came close with a header. At the same time Czech Republic swapped Baros, who had run himself into the ground, for David Jarolim.

68': A chance for Inzaghi who almost profited from a Czech error. A defensive clearance cannoned off a tream-mate and ran free to Inzaghi who aimed wide after Cech came out to narrow the angle.

70': A great move by the Czechs saw Stajner backheeling the ball for Nedved and he fired in a fierce right-foot shot which Buffon beat away.

83': Nearly a second goal for Italy as Pirlo charged through. The ball eventually squirted across to Inzaghi who put his header wide.

87': Inzaghi made up for that miss with the second goal four minutes later. The Czechs were caught pushing forward and a counterattack found Inzaghi racing clear from the halfway line. Inzaghi powered on, rounded Cech and, ignoring the chance to release his fellow susbtitute Simone Barone, he made the game safe for Italy. (0-2)

The Czech Republic gave it a real go but Italy's first goal helped Lippi's men take command of the game and the longer it went the less likely it appeared that the Czechs would save themselves. Inzaghi's strike ended the contest and left Italy looking forward to the next round while their opponents bow out.

Marcello LIPPI: "We were focused on qualifying for the second round, which was our main objective. We knew we had to finish top to avoid Brazil. It was a match between two strong teams who had to win to stay in the tournament. In football, a numerical advantage can make a big difference. We know that only too well after our match against the USA a few days ago.

"I replaced Alessandro Nesta because he was holding his groin and signalled to us that he wanted to come off. I would tell you that it was so I could bring on Marco Materazzi to score but that would be a lie. I've been asked a lot whether the team have been distracted by things happening at home in Italy at the moment, but that's not the case. The only pressure the players feel comes from the big match nerves. We have a solid, close-knit squad. They know this is a unique opportunity to achieve something and they'll give their all to do it."