After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the penalty shootout to Spain in the semifinals, Italy had the last laugh, topping Uruguay 3-2 on penalties to finish third in the Confederations Cup.
The third-place playoff was just a small precursor to the explosive final at the Maracana between Brazil and Spain, but the match in Salvador more than held its own.
Edinson Cavani was the main man for Uruguay, scoring a brace as Italy found their goals through Davide Astori and Alessandro Diamanti with the game ending 2-2 after normal and extra time - Italy had to see out the final ten minutes of extra time with just ten men after Riccardo Montolivo was sent off for two yellow cards.
Gianluigi Buffon, who failed to stop a single penalty against Spain, was the hero for Italy, keeping out three Uruguay spotkicks to give Italy at least some semblance of justice after that narrow loss to Spain.
"It's a moment for us to be proud, because we did well in a very difficult match," Buffon said.
"It would've been harder if we didn't show this type of character on the pitch. We suffered a lot during the match, but this outcome made it worthwhile and I was able to give my best for the team.
"We honored our place in the football world the best way we could.
"It's a miracle we're here now. We managed not to lose, and this is very positive."
The match was end-to-end right from the off and Italy drew first blood in the 24th minute. A wickedly swung freekick from Diamanti flummoxed Fernando Muslera, with the ball striking the woodwork before cannoning off the back of the Uruguay goalkeeper. The ball seemed to be trickling in before Astori tapped home from close range to make it 1-0.
Cavani thought he had equalized just past the half hour mark, but was correctly denied by the offside flag.
Uruguay continued searching for the equalizer in the second half, and Cavani finally made it 1-1 in the 58th minute, wonderfully curling a low shot past Buffon.
The Juventus goalkeeper then denied Diego Forlan with a brilliant double-save, before Diamanti gave Italy the lead with a brilliant curling freekick in the 73rd minute.
However, Uruguay made it 2-2 five minutes later, with Cavani answering with a stunning freekick of his own.
The match went into extra time -- Italy's second in less than 72 hours - with both sides looking devoid of any energy, which in turn led to the inevitable penalty shootout.
Forlan, Martin Caceres and Walter Gargano saw their penalties saved by the excellent Buffon as both sides exited the tournament with their heads held high.
"I'm content for having scored goals today (Sunday), but the nicest thing is that Uruguay leaves the Cup with a very good image, and walking tall," Cavani told reporters.
"I don't want to speak about luck, but they did enough to win the game. This makes a difference in a moment like this. But we did well, we played with honour, fought hard and now we leave with reasons to believe in this team.
"We did a beautiful job, with wins and good results like this one. We're showing again the same Uruguay that did well at Copa America and the World Cup qualifiers. And that's all that matters so close to the World Cup."
