Late Penalty Kick Powers Italy, 1-0

In a World Cup increasingly influenced by referees, a questionable penalty sent Italy into the quarterfinals over a surprisingly stout Australia with a 1-0 victory Monday.

The Aussies played even with the Italians, holding them scoreless into the third minute of injury time.

But with 12 seconds left, Lucas Neill was called for fouling Fabio Grosso, who was dribbling a few strides from the goalmouth when Neill slid in front of him. The Italian tried to leap over Neill but tripped over the defender’s back.

Moments later, Francesco Totti sent his penalty kick high to the right of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who guessed correctly but couldn’t stretch far enough to stop the ball.

“I was calm and tranquil. I knew I was capable of scoring,” Totti said.

With no time to restart, the Italians started celebrating.

“I don’t know what I am feeling at the moment,” Australia midfielder Tim Cahill said, “but I suppose it’s disbelief.”

Italy plays Friday in the quarterfinals against Ukraine, which beat Switzerland, 3-0, on penalty kicks after the teams tied 0-0 after overtime.

It was another match filled with yellow cards and one ejection. The red card against Italy’s Marco Materazzi was the 24th in this tournament, already a record with 10 matches to go.