World Cup: Italian samba after win over Germany

Less than 24 hours after Italy scored twice in the final minutes of a 2-0 extra-time win over host Germany in the World Cup semifinals, Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro recounted the scene when Italian Premier Romano Prodi entered the locker-room after the game.

Photo: World Cup: Italian samba after win over Germany

Coach Marcello Lippi was busy with media interviews and missed the impromptu performance by the premier but the players filled him in, the AP reports.

When he finally did reach the locker-room, Lippi said the most important thing he told the team was that the job isn't over yet, according to the AP.

On Sunday, Italy will attempt to win its fourth World Cup against either Portugal or France, who were playing the other semifinal later Wednesday.

As he's done for just about every game in his long coaching career, Lippi re-watched the match when the team returned to its training base in the early hours of Wednesday.

"I'm tired. I slept two hours," Lippi said. "I re-watched the entire game, including the overtime periods. I really liked what I saw. It confirmed the impression that we all had. We beat a good team in a game that had everything a game of this level should have."