ROME, 14 January 2005 — Gianfranco Zola scored in extra time to knock holders Lazio out of the Italian Cup yesterday and put Cagliari into the quarterfinals on the away goals rule.

Lazio won the second leg 3-2 but after losing 2-1 away in the first leg they tumbled out in the third round. The troubled Rome side looked to be cruising into the last eight with goals either side of halftime from midfielder Antonio Filippini and striker Tommaso Rocchi.

Cagliari looked short on ideas in attack but with nine minutes remaining David Suazo nodded the ball into the path of fellow striker Daniele Conti, who hooked past Lazio keeper Matteo Sereni to take the game into extra time.

In the 102nd minute Lazio’s defense allowed former Chelsea striker Zola space to lash into the roof of the net and despite a late strike by Rocchi to make the aggregate score 4-4, Cagliari progressed thanks to their two goals at the Olympic Stadium.

In another thrilling third round second leg match yesterday, Udinese also progressed on the away goals rule after drawing 8-8 with Lecce on aggregate. Having won the first leg in Lecce 5-4, Udinese extended their advantage with an early goal by striker David Di Michele.

Lecce then stormed back to lead 4-1 with a brace from striker Mirko Vucinic and goals by Sasa Bjelanovic and Cedric Konan.

In the 88th minute striker Vincenzo Iaquinta pulled one back and Antonio Di Natale grabbed the crucial third for Udinese two minutes into added time. Udinese and Lazio were joined in the last eight by AS Roma, who overturned a 2-1 first leg deficit by thrashing Siena 5-1 to win 6-3 on aggregate. Early strikes by defender Traianos Dellas and captain Francesco Totti and a Massimo Maccarone penalty for Siena left the contest evenly-balanced at halftime, but goals by Antonio Cassano and Vincenzo Montella in the first four minutes after the restart put the result beyond doubt. Roma’s 20-year-old striker Daniele Corvia added a fifth just after the hour and the late dismissal of defender Bruno Cirillo completed Siena’s woes.

Tsunami Benefit Match to Be Played in Barcelona

In London, the “Football for Hope” benefit match to help victims of the Asian tsunami will be played at Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium on Feb. 15, FIFA and UEFA said in a joint statement yesterday. Soccer’s world and European governing bodies said that one side would be led by World Player 2004 Ronaldinho, the other by European Footballer of the Year 2004 Andriy Shevchenko, with the other players involved to be named in due course.

The Brazilian’s team will be jointly-coached by Brazil’s World Cup winning-coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard while Juventus boss Marcello Lippi and Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger will take charge of the Ukrainian striker’s line-up.

All proceeds from the match will be donated to the FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund, which has been set up jointly by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

“Just like the rest of the international community, the worldwide football family is determined to do everything possible to help the individuals and football associations that have been so severely affected by the terrible tsunami tragedy,” said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

UEFA has pledged $1 million to the solidarity fund and the same amount to the Red Cross.

Football associations in India, Malaysia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand are all actively involved in efforts to provide aid for victims and support for the reconstruction of key installations. FIFA has also started to distribute equipment and clothing, including footballs, T-shirts and caps.