Italy was so sure that the Netherlands would render the Azzurri\'s match with France meaningless by letting Romania win on Tuesday that the World Cup winners had already reserved their plane home from the European Championship. But the reservations will have to be cancelled after Italy beat 10-man France 2-0 and the Dutch downed Romania by the same score. The results sent Italy through to the quarterfinals and sent France home at the first hurdle. “Holland-Romania is a lesson for us Italians,” Italian football federation vice president Mr Demetrio Albertini said. “Everyone in Italy was thinking about a fix between Holland and Romania. Some of those thoughts even infiltrated the squad.” Albertini and Italy coach Roberto Donadoni used to play with Netherlands manager Marco van Basten at AC Milan, and Donadoni said he had always been confident the Dutch would play at their best despite having already won the group. “I didn\'t have any doubts. I know Van Basten,” Donadoni said. “I know what he\'s made of. When they asked me to call him, it seemed useless, and disrespectful to him.” Andrea Pirlo put Italy in front at Letzigrund Stadium with a penalty in the 25th minute after Eric Abidal was sent off for a foul on Luca Toni, and Daniele De Rossi made it 2-0 with a deflected free kick in the 62nd. Italy will next face Group D winner Spain on Sunday in Vienna, although its attempt to improve on an occasionally unconvincing performance will be hampered by the absence of key midfielders Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso. The pair are suspended after getting their second yellow cards of the tournament. It was Italy\'s first win over France without the help of a penalty shootout in 30 years, the last occasion being a 2-1 win at the 1978 World Cup. Italy beat France in a shootout in the 2006 World Cup final and the teams also met twice in qualifying for Euro 2008. The French won 3-1 in Paris and the teams drew 0-0 in Milan. Donadoni would have likely lost his job if Italy was eliminated. “Yesterday I said that when I get up in the morning, I see hair that stays on the pillow. Now I\'m trying to see if some of it will grow back,” Donadoni said. “But beyond the jokes, this has always how it\'s been for me. As a coach and as a player, I\'ve always had to work hard and sweat for everything. “But the merit tonight goes exclusively to the players. They deserved it.” The Netherlands won Group C with a maximum nine points and Italy finished second with four. Romania exited with two points and France finished last with just one. France was at a disadvantage from the seventh minute when winger Franck Ribery collapsed before being carried off with an injury to his left leg. That robbed France of perhaps its greatest attacking threat and Italy got the chance to take control when Toni stretched acrobatically to control a long pass from over his head with the tip of his foot, luring Abidal into pulling him down from behind. Abidal was sent from the field and Pirlo dispatched the kick emphatically. “In one match it\'s impossible to have so many catastrophes on a pitch,” France coach Mr Raymond Domenech said. “You\'d think it\'s impossible.”Italy knew that it would go through so long as they and the Netherlands avoided defeat, so news of the Dutch\'s 54th-minute opener against Romania sent fans wild when it reached the Letzigrund Stadium. And their celebrations became even more fevered when Italy got another bit of good fortune in the second half. De Rossi\'s free kick deflected past goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and into the net off Thierry Henry, who stuck out his boot from his position at the end of France\'s defensive wall. When Italy\'s bench related news of the Netherlands\' second goal, the two players nearest by ~ Toni and Antonio Cassano ~ started celebrating as play continued. After the game, Cassano stripped down to his underwear to celebrate.A light rain shortly before kickoff had ceased and clouds came in to obscure a large rainbow hanging over the field. But the wet field probably helped Italy\'s passing game, and the Italians looked far stronger than they had in their previous two matches ~ a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands and a 1-1 draw with Romania.
