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Show ITALIANS THUMP BRAZIL, 3-2 Paolo Rossi, who returned this spring from a two-year suspension involving a betting scandal, helped bring Italy one of its greatest moments on a soccer field Monday afternoon when he scored three goals that elminated Brazil, 3-2, and gave Italy a spot in the World Cup semifinals. The Brazilians had been favored to win this most popular sports tournament in the world, but Monday they gave up three goals to a team that had scored only two goals in the first three games of cup play. The Italians now play Poland in the Barcelona end of the cup semifinals at 9 a.m. (MDT) Thursday. When Rossi, a 25-year-old striker and one of the highest-paid players in the world, was allowed to rejoin Juventus, he warned fans not to expect miracles. But Monday he propelled the Italians farther than most fans and critics had expected. He gave them the lead three times, the last time for good with 15 minutes remaining when he kicked a rolling shot past Valdir Peres of Brazil. The intimate little Sarria Stadium quivered with tension as perhaps 8,000 yellow-clad fans of Brazil's famous twisting, dancing La Torcida screamed for one more goal. But Dino Zoff, at 40 the oldest player in this 24-team tournament, held off the Brazilians' desperate surges and touched off a long celebration and chanting of "Ee-Tal-Ya" for half an hour. The two teams went into Monday's game knowing that a tie would send Italy home, since the Italians had surprised Argentina by 2-1 while the Brazilians had scored a 3-1 3-1 victory over Argentina, the defending champion. This meant that Enzo Bearzot's favored lineup, which bunches four defenders close to the goal, would not be sufficient for Italy to pass through to the semifinals. The Forza Azzurra, as the blue-clad Italians are known, needed some goals. It took Rossi five minutes before Antonio Cabrini and Francesco Graziani kicked cross passes and Rossi headed the ball into the left corner. Socrates, the taiP medical student, tied thej , score for Brazil seven) ; minutes later when he; outran Gaetano Scirea on' 1 the right side and took the J extra 12 or 18 inches that J Zoff left him between, Zoff's left side and the,' right goal post. But Rossi put Italy , ahead at the 25-minute mark on a goal that was pure instinct. When . Leandro made a sloppy cross pass on the Brazilian side, Rossi sensed that Toninho Cerezo was not going to be able to trap it. Rossi ducked behind Cerezo, took the ball and fired a screaming goal into the right corner. Early in the second half, Brazil subjected Zoff to a 17-minute barrage that he handled beautifully until Falcano made one of the tournament's most brilliant individual goals. Falcao controlled the-ball and let his teammate run distracting patterns before finally slamming it past Zoff. |