Giovanni Trapattoni came within three minutes of a famous World
Cup victory over his native Italy as the reigning champions got
out of jail at the death.
Substitute Alberto Gilardino snatched a 2-2 draw with a 90th-minute
strike just three minutes after Sean St Ledger thought he had
blown the race for automatic qualification from Group Eight wide
open.
St Ledger's 87th-minute goal, his first for his country, looked
to have closed the gap to the leaders to a single point going
into the final round of matches on Wednesday. However, Gilardino's
face-saver booked Italy's ticket to South Africa. |
