Uruguay vs. Italy Final Score: Italy Earns Third-Place in Penalties

The 2013 Confederations Cup third-place match between Uruguay and Italy had the makings of a must-see contest. Luckily for the fans who were tuning in, the match delivered with a thrilling back and forth game that was sent to extra time. In the end,

Italy got on the board first with a beautiful goal that was credited to Davide Astori. The ball smacked off the post and then off of the back of Uruguay keeper Fernando Muslera and rolled perfectly along the goal line before being sent in to the back of the net. Edinson Cavani answered for Uruguay with a goal from the center of the box thanks to an assist by Walter Gargano.

The action continued late in to the second half when Italy seemed to catch their lucky break when Alessandro Diamanti put the Italians up front in the 73rd minute with a free kick he placed right in the top right corner in the net.

Uruguay was desperate to tie the game and their chance came when Cavani struck again with a free kick of his own that found the back of the old onion bag just five minutes later.

With a 2-2 score, the game was set in to extra time and fans were guaranteed at least thirty more minutes of quality football.

After a wild first overtime that saw both teams having great opportunities, the score remained tied at two goals a piece and we headed towards the final fifteen minutes of the extra time before it would come down to a round of penalty kicks that would decide the outcome.

Italy received a bit of a blow when Riccardo Montolivo was sent off just five minutes in to the second overtime period after his second yellow card. Luckily for the Italians, they were able to hang on and hold firm.

As a result, the third-place match headed to a penalty shootout to determine the winner and Buffon put on an epic performance. It was Italy’s second-straight shootout in the Confederations Cup.

* URUGUAY MISS — Gigi Buffon blocked the shot from Diego Forlan
* ITALY SCORE — Alberto Aquilani successfully converts penalty
* URUGUAY SCORE — Edinson Cavani caps off impressive game with make
* ITALY SCORE —  Stephan El Shaarawy keeps Italy in front
* URUGUAY SCORE — Luis Suarez easily sneaks one in the bottom right corner
* ITALY MISS —  Fernando Muslera blocks Mattia De Sciglio to tie it up
* URUGUAY MISS — Buffon stones Martín Cáceres’ poor attempt
* ITALY SCORE —  Emanuele Giaccherini puts Italy one goal away from the third-place win
* URUGUAY MISS — Buffon stops his third PK to lift Italy to victory

With the win, Italy shows that they can be a serious contender in next summers World Cup if they qualify.