Italy now face the luxury of a quarter-final against first-time qualifiers Ukraine, who struggled to beat Switzerland in the other second round clash played on Monday – winning on penalties after the game finished in a drab 0-0 draw after extra time.

While Australia coach Guus Hiddink claimed the Socceroos were the better side and deserved to go through, adding that the penalty – awarded for a challenge by Lucas Neill on Fabio Grosso – should never have been given, Lippi said the Italians should have been home and dry by half-time, after spurning several great goalscoring opportunities in the first 45 minutes.

“They (Australia) didn’t even get close to a goal in the first half of the game,” Lippi said. “In contrast we had about thee or four really good attempts.”

Lippi said he was proud of the way his players then dug in with just 10 men in the second half as Australia – appearing in the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time – threatened to pull off a massive upset.

“Our players showed great determination and then to get a victory with a penalty in the last minute (of injury time) was fantastic,” he said.

Lippi also reminded those that were critical of Italy’s hard-fought win over a Socceroos’ side they were expected to dominate, that the team was also without its first choice central defender Alessandro Nesta because of a groin injury sustained in the final group game against the Czech Republic.

“I have to pay tribute to the team for the way they prepared 100% for this match,” he said.

“We have had so many injuries during this World Cup, it has not been easy with first Totti getting injured (before the tournament) and then Nesta and we have actually used 20 of 23 squad players so far.

“And no other team that is still left in the tournament has used that many players and it says a lot for our resilience and our team spirit.”

However, Lippi said he was hopeful that Nesta would be fit for the quarter-final clash against Ukraine, which will be played in Hamburg on Friday.