Cherchesov made a good save from Zola but Ravanelli, twice freed by Zola, should have done better. He was saved by Dobrovolski's waywardness, and a timely punch from Peruzzi as Kanchelskis sought an unlikely headed equaliser.The onus will be on the former Manchester United winger on Sunday. It fell to Valeri Karpin, whose shot rebounded to Ilya Tsymbalar. Maldini proved equal to the challenge but, on the other flank, Italy were suddenly opened up.It came from a rare foray by Viktor Onopko. His penchant for stepping out of defence was restricted by Nikiforov's absence but this time he had a shot blocked.

Yet they now relaxed and, slowly, the Russians began to take control.The much-anticipated contest between Paolo Maldini and Andrei Kanchelskis began to feature, with the Russians constantly seeking to release their winger. The culprit was Stanislav Cherchesov, the Russian goalkeeper, who mis-hit a clearance straight to Angelo di Livio. He instantly transferred it to Casiraghi who, with the goalkeeper still scrambling back into position, drove the ball past him from 25 yards.The goal rewarded an Italian side which had been so hungry to start that Les Mottram, the Scottish referee, had to hold them back at the kick-off. However, the Lazio striker was slow to react and his shot was blocked. Chiesa's supporters nodded knowingly, and prepared to castigate Sacchi once more.Two minutes later they were acclaiming Casiraghi's inclusion as he scored the fastest goal of the tournament to date It came, as early goals often do, from a mistake. But they rarely penetrated in attack and badly missed Yuri Nikiforov in defence.That weakness showed as early as the third minute, as Casiraghi was left unmarked to receive Alessandro Del Piero's pass.

Russia had more possession, they often created the prettier passing moves in an attractive, free-flowing game. Ravanelli, given 10 minutes to show what he could do, missed two good chances to seal the Azzurri's win. Had Igor Dobrovolski not shot wildly over when put through in the last minute, Ravanelli's domestic popularity could have vanished overnight.The Italians just deserved their victory. For weeks the Italian press and public have been pondering the omens and suggesting that Euro 96 will see an echo of the 1982 and 1990 World Cups, and the emergence of an unexpected goalscoring hero "Remember Paolo Rossi and Toto Schillaci," they said.