Lithuania, which has never played in a major championship, held World Cup champion Italy to a 1-1 tie in Naples on Saturday, the first full day of Euro 2008 qualifying.
New Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said he was disappointed with the tie but added he had told his players they played well under the circumstances. The start to Italy's league season has been pushed back to Sept. 9 due to legal wrangling surrounding the Serie A match-fixing scandal, and Donadoni left out several key players, including World Cup strikers Luca Toni, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Vincenzo Iaquinta. Filippo Inzaghi scored for Italy eight minutes after striker Tomas Danilevicius put Lithuania ahead. Donadoni said he thought the Azzurrri deserved to win.
''Inzaghi scored a goal and went close to getting a couple of others,'' said Donadoni. ''[Antonio] Cassano did the same. and [Alberto] Gilardino had a header saved on the line.''
Next up for Italy is replay of the 2006 World Cup final on Wednesday when it faces France at the Stade de France. The World Cup runners-up crushed Georgia 3-0 in Tbilisi. Franck Ribery, considered the heir to retired star Zinedine Zidane in the France midfield, set up Florent Malouda and Louis Saha for early goals.
World Cup host Germany beat Ireland, 1-0, when a shot from Lukas Podolski deflected off Ireland captain Robbie Keane. Ireland coach Steve Staunton was banished for kicking a water bottle in protest and faces a suspension.
The Netherlands struggled to beat tiny Luxembourg, 1-0, securing all three points on a 17th-minute goal from Joris Mathijsen. The biggest surprise came in Bydgoszcz, where veteran Jari Litmanen scored twice in Finland's 3-1 victory over World Cup finalist Poland, playing under new Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker. Hungary suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Norway in Budapest. The four Norwegian goals came in the first 41 minutes.