Playing with ten men from the 50th minute, the Italians refused to give up on Monday against underdogs Australia even as their chances dried up as the second half progressed. But finally, in the 93rd minute, Fabio Grosso found his way into the area near the touch line. Defender Lukas Neill went for the tackle, Grosso went down and the referee whistled a penalty. Francesco Totti, who came on in the 75th minute, did the honors, kicking Italy into the quarterfinals.

The end came as Australia seemed already preparing itself for extra time and exhibiting chaotic confusion in their defense each time Italy managed to pressure. But with defender Marco Materazzi seeing red just as the second half got underway for a tackle on Marco Bresciano -- the 23rd red card of the tournament -- Australia used its man advantage to create a number of well-coordinated attacks on the Italian goal. Few, however, resulted in real chances as the formidable Italian defense held its ground.

"We weren't afraid that we were going to lose," said Italy's coach Marcello Lippi. "We still had overtime and then a possible penalty shoot out. We weren't really afraid of Australia. We might have shown a couple of weaknesses here and there, but we played strongly. In the first half, we didn't allow even one shot on goal. In the second, we struggled but we gave away very little and then there was this great play by Grosso."

The penalty promises to be yet another controversial scene in this World Cup. Neill didn't appear to make contact with Grosso during his tackle though the Italian clearly tripped over him as he tried to get by. But the shot by Totti -- still not 100 percent fit after missing over two months with a broken leg -- was never in doubt as he drove it strong into the left side of the goal past a diving Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer.

Materazzi's red marks the second time in this tournament that Italy has had a man sent off, though a yellow would have been sufficient for the foul. What looked like a mugging at first revealed itself to be a relatively harmless if clumsy tackle. More red cards have been handed out this tournament already than in the entire 2002 World Cup. Soon after Materazzi was sent off, Scott Chipperfield tested Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon with a clever spin shot from close in.

Australia dominated possession after the red, but was unable to break down the Azzurri defense for decent chances. Tim Cahill popped free for a header off a Bresciano corner in the 81st minute but missed high. He pushed another chance off a corner in the 89th minute high as well.

Some uncharacteristic confusion in the Italian defense in the 78th minute resulted in another Australian chance. But all the Socceroos could manage was a weak shot by Bresciano directly at Buffon, who was declared Man of the Match.

But it was the Italians who appeared the more dangerous on their rare second-half forays into the Australian area. The Aussie defense granted lots of space and often seemed undecided on who should kick the ball clear. In the 87th minute, the chaos resulted in a tentative clear attempt which found Italian forward Vincenzo Iaquinta instead. He fired his shot directly at Schwarzer.

The Italians had the better chances in the first half as well with Luca Toni having four excellent scoring opportunities. His header in the opening minutes off a cross by Alessandro Del Piero was just wide and another shot soon after ended with an outstanding foot-save by Schwarzer.

The Australians, even as they managed to push play into the Italian box, didn't seem to be able to generate a shot. Frequently, the attacks ended in missed passes or poor footwork. Australian winger Harry Kewell -- Man of the Match against Croatia -- missed the game following a recurrence of his long-term groin problem.