Italy, the 2006 World Cup champion, was eliminated from the 2010 edition of the tournament after a 3-2 loss to Slovakia yesterday.

Slovakia now advances to the second round of the World Cup.

Slovakia was led by Robert Vittek and Kamil Kopunek, who scored two and one respectively. Italy had goals from Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella.

Slovakia adjusted their lineup to give them more offensive options. The team needed to win to qualify for the next round. From the get-go, they showed more speed and movement and Italy’s defense suffered.