Zaccagni channels his hero Del Piero to rescue Azzurri

MATTIA ZACCAGNI grew up with posters of Alessandro Del Piero all over his bedroom walls and last night he followed in the footsteps of his idol.

- Simon Collings

With just seconds left in Leipzig, Italy were crying out for a hero as they trailed Croatia 1-0 and Zaccagni rose to the occasion.

The substitute secured Italy the draw they needed to reach the last 16 with virtually the final kick of the game, curling the ball into the top corner to finish off a flowing move.

It brought back memories of Del Piero's brilliant breakaway goal against Germany in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup, and Zaccagni (above) has now written himself into Azzurri folklore, too.

"I'm speechless, I'm over the moon," he said. "Del Piero was always my idol, I had his posters on my wall as a child.