Italy qualify for Euro 2012 with win over Slovenia

 　　FLORENCE, Italy, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Giampaolo Pazzini came off the bench to score a late goal and gave Italy a 1-0 win over Slovenia and qualification for Euro 2012 on Tuesday.

　　The hosts could not convert¹ their numerous chances into goals until the 85th minute when Pazzini met a pass from Claudio Marchisio and beat goalkeeper Jasmin Handanovic with an angled shot from six meters.

　　With the win, the Azzurri have 22 points, 8 points more than the second-placed Serbia in their group, and thus qualified² for the Euro 2012 finals with two matches to spared.

　　With seven wins and a draw in qualifying³, Italy has allowed just one goal- to Sergei Zenjov during Italy's 2-1 win over Estonia a year ago in its first qualifier under Prandelli.

　　With a players' strike having wiped out the opening weekend of Serie A, Italy also struggled to find the target for long stretches in a 1-0 win over the Faeroe Islands on Friday. This time, though, Prandelli's subsitutions paid off, and the Azzurri can now play their final two qualifiers against Serbia and Northern Ireland without any pressure.

1 convert   

v.（在形式、状态、用途等方面）（使）改变

参考例句：

• I must convert sorrow into strength.我要化悲痛为力量。
• At what rate does the dollar convert into pounds?美元以什么汇率兑换成英镑？

2 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

3 qualifying   

使具有资格的

参考例句：

• players who fail at the pre-qualifying stage 在预选赛中淘汰掉的选手
• A doctoral candidate is required to pass a qualifying examination. 考博士需通过一个资格考试。