BERLIN, July 9 (UPI) -- Fabio Grosso drilled home Italy's fifth penalty kick Sunday, giving the Italians a 5-3 victory over France for the 2006 World Cup championship.
Grosso, who made a goal in the 119th minute of the semifinal with Germany, hit that ball solidly past France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez to seal the victory. Teammates Andrea Pirlo, Marco Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi and Alessandro Del Piero also converted penalty kicks to set up Grosso's kick.
Italy has now won four World Cups. Only Brazil, with five, has more.
It was the second World Cup to be decided on penalty kicks. In 1994 Brazil stopped Italy on the extra kicks.
France seemed to be on more control and have more chances but could not break a 1-1 tie the Italians forged in the game's 19th minute. Still, the French had a chance but gave the advantage to Italy when David Trezeguet, the team's second kicker, hit the cross bar with his try.
France played the final 10 minutes of overtime a man down after Zinedine Zidane, who had played a brilliant tournament, was given a red card for blatant head butt into the chest of Marco Materazzi.
Materazzi tied the score at 1-1 in the 19th minute with a solid header into the goal off a corner kick from Pirlo that was curling away from the goal and right to Materazzi.
France took a 1-0 lead very early when Materazzi was called for a foul in the box on Florent Malouda. Zidane took the penalty kick and chipped it into the crossbar. But the ball came down clearly over the line for a goal.
That was only the second goal Italy allowed in the tournament -- the other was an own goal in a game with the United States -- and the 12 minutes Italy trailed between the first-half goals was the only time in seven 2006 World Cup games the Italians were behind.
France, nearly as sterling, allowed three goals over seven games and trailed just 13 minutes during the tournament.
