The Azzurri were denied a crucial victory right at the death, as they were held 1-1 by Ireland in their recent world cup qualifier.

Italy could only manage a 1-1 draw against Ireland in Bari earlier tonight, despite going ahead after just 10 minutes, when Vincenzo Iaquinta coolly finished off some great work by Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Grosso to give the Italians the lead.

The world champions played the majority of the match with ten men, after Giampaolo Pazzini was shown a contentious red card after just four minutes of play. Unfortunately for their sake though, they were unable to hold onto their lead for the entirety of the contest, as Robbie Keane equalised three minutes from time.

It was a solid defensive display by the Italians, led by their skipper Fabio Cannavaro, who was understandably disappointed at the completion of the match.

“It’s very disappointing because we did so well throughout. It’s never easy to play with ten men, especially when the red card was not there,” Cannavaro expressed in an interview with Rai.

“The red card is not an excuse for us though, as we have the strength and experience to play at times in ten if we have to.

“It’s too bad that we conceded a goal late. We should have been smarter about it, and ensured that we cleared the ball when we had the chance.”

The Azzurri will have another crack at the Irish later this year, something that Cannavaro and his team will certainly be looking forward to.

“We will have the chance to play in Ireland later in the year, and we will recover some key players for that match, making it a very enticing contest.”

Despite the result, Italy still remain top of group eight, with 14 points from six matches, two ahead of Ireland in second position.