Stopping a world class player such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not an easy thing to do, but if there is a team that can pull it off, that's Italy. They managed to completely stop the Swedish striker and didn't let him breathe throughout 90 minutes. At the end, the prize for being able to hold their own with an elegant defensive game, was Eder's last minute winning goal which gave Italy the next round ticket and three points.
After the victory, the Brazilian born player talked about how great a job his teammates did and dedicated the goal to all of them: "I'm delighted first and foremost for all of my team-mates, considering how hard we've worked. I was happy after the Belgium game too because I felt it was a great performance, even if I didn't score. When one works so hard, the joys always arrive. There's no such thing as an easy game anymore. We knew it was going to be hard."
Eder spoke about the curious way in which the goal originated which came after a throw-in from the sidelines: "Details make the difference in football and even throw-ins matter - and these are things we have been working on. I dedicate this goal to the whole group, everybody who has worked with us this last year-and-a-half and been here from May 18 because we've prepared well, so I dedicate this goal to the whole group."
Photo credit: Italy