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Eder's Brazilian magic saves Italy but lack of star quality is exposed

The striker sealed the Azzurri's place in the last 16 of Euro 2016 with a late winner against Sweden but his side's limitations were evident in Toulouse

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"We're a team aware of our limitations," Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admitted in Toulouse on Monday afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, against Sweden, those limitations were exposed but once again the Azzurri's remarkable resilience saw them through - and into the last 16 of Euro 2016.

Italy toiled for the best part of 75 minutes against a Sweden side that had been played off the pitch by Republic of Ireland on Monday, utterly incapable of gaining any control over a midfield marshalled by the 33-year-old Kim Kallstrom and, as a consequence, offering next to nothing up front (Eder and Graziano Pelle didn't manage a touch in the opposition area during the first half).