DORTMUND : Italy coach Marcello Lippi hailed midfield superiority and a fear of the penalty shootout as the keys to his team's stunning 2-0 win over host Germany in the semifinals of the World Cup.

What did it, said a delighted Lippi, was a combination of packing the midfield and leaving Francesco Totti behind as a lone striker and then taking two midfielders off early in extra time to finish with four forwards.

Italy not only had the better of the midfield, with 57 per cent possession and the Germans forced to man mark Totti with a sparkling Andrea Pirlo, named FIFA's man of the match, free to shine as the playmaker par excellence.

"It would have been an injustice not to win or to go on to penalties and a game of Russian roulette," Lippi said.

Clearly superior

Hailing his side as clearly superior, both technically and in terms of nerve in front of a roaring crowd of home fans in the 65,000-seat Westfalenstadion, he added: "We were the better side and I don't think any German could say otherwise."

"It's an immense joy and you can see it was destiny. If we hadn't scored, we would probably have lost on penalties," Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told reporters. Veteran striker del Piero, troubled by injury and poor form in the past few seasons, stole the show after coming on as a substitute 14 minutes into extra time.

He sealed Italy's victory with the last kick of the game, slotting the ball inside the far post from a Gilardino pass.

"When I sent on del Piero I said to people that he would get the winning goal. I was wrong about that but he made an impact," Lippi said.

When asked about his final opponent, Lippi said "I'd be stupid to stay which team I'd prefer to face because if it turns out to be the other one, they'll be even more motivated. We'll take what comes."

On the other hand, Germany's coach Jurgen Klinsmann said it had been a bitter disappointment to concede the two late goals.

Bitter pill to digest

"It is an enormous disappointment and the mood is very low. It is a bitter pill to concede two goals so near the end," said the 41-year-old, who won the World Cup as a player with West Germany in 1990.

"I tried to say to them (the players) that they have played fantastically; everyone has pushed themselves to their limits.

"They can take so much from this tournament and they have made the country proud. We had our chances to score the first goal and then just before the end they took their chances."

Klinsmann said he would try to lift the team's spirits ahead of the third-place play-off on Saturday before deciding whether he wanted to remain national coach.

Remain as coach

Meanwhile, the World Cup organising committee head, Franz Beckenbauer said Klinsmann should remain as German coach despite the defeat.

"I think our team played really well. It was Italian cleverness which sent them through," said Beckenbauer.

"I hope Jurgen Klinsmann carries on. He has a young team which he has moulded in his image. The young players trust him and it would be a pity if we lost that.

"We gave a good account of ourselves and today's defeat can't change that," added the 60-year-old Beckenbauer, a winner with West Germany in 1974 and then coach of the winning side in 1990.

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