Panucci missed from two yards from a Pirlo free-kick as Italy threatened on the break.
Pirlo was a club legend, but he was also expensive and hadn't had a great season.
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With hindsight, the decision to drop Pirlo ranks up there in the annals of soccer's lousy moves.
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Andre Pirlo put them ahead after 14 minutes but Emanuele Calaio equalized after the break for the home side.
Germany stood off Pirlo, allowing the Italy playmaker to sweep a pass out to Giorgio Chiellini who fed Antonio Cassano.
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Pirlo set up the equaliser with an inswinging corner and Shay Given failed to keep out Camoranesi's powerful near-post header.
Conti says, have a hard backline under pirlo and an arc of cutters above Pirlo and let Pirlo create and voila.
The likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo and Luca Toni have the week off to rest after gruelling club seasons.
Pirlo advanced and slipped past the attentions of Busquets to play a lovely ball in for Di Natale to run onto and score.
It was Italy who rode their luck on the stroke of half time when a Weir header was cleared off the goalline by Pirlo.
Pirlo is not known for his mobility as much as he is for his pinpoint passing and tactical nous qualities that don't erode with age.
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Andrea Pirlo cleared a David Weir header off the Italian line.
The Italy captain was caught in no-man's land early on, allowing Mats Hummels to poke goalwards only to see Andrea Pirlo scramble the ball off the line.
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But Ferguson forced the ball home when Lee McCulloch's effort was saved after 65 minutes only for Panucci to head home from a disputed Pirlo free kick.
Croatia drew 1-1 in the match against Italy in Poznan on Thursday, with Mario Mandzukic scoring for the Croatians and Andrea Pirlo claiming a goal for Italy.
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The reason was to engage Andrea Pirlo but in that game Pirlo played very deep and selectively chose his moments to jump into a more advanced position.
Two minutes later the lead was doubled as Andrea Pirlo curled a cross into the near post and Borriello hooked a brilliant volley over his shoulder and into the top corner.
Italy were temporarily shaken but equalized after 19 minutes when Materazzi atoned for his earlier slackness by rising high above Patrick Vieira to head home an Andrea Pirlo corner from the right.
With France rocking at the back, Materazzi nearly repeated the medicine and Italy were close to a second in the 36th minute when Pirlo curled in another tempting corner which striker Luca Toni headed against the bar.
And Italy, sorely lacking the creativity of injured AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo, are now under real pressure to ensure an extended stay in South Africa: they must beat Slovakia on Thursday to guarantee a place in the last 16.
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