DORTMUND, July 4 - Italy's Alessandro Del Piero said it was hard to describe his feelings after beating Germany 2-0 following extra time in Tuesday's World Cup semi-final.

"It was fantastic to be part of a match like that," said substitute striker Del Piero, who scored Italy's second goal.

"To win in their own backyard -- there aren't any words that describe what I'm feeling right now...

"I've had some criticism recently, but today I demonstrated that my desire is as great as anyone else's."

Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who saw his team snatch two late goals near the end of the extra period with fullback Fabio Grosso putting them ahead, said Italy had dominated the game.

"This is the realisation of a dream that has lasted a long time. If there was a team that was going to win this game, it was going to be us," he said.

"In my view we controlled the match. We played against 50,000 people... the German supporters were fantastic. We played a great game and we played better than Germany for the first 90 minutes.

"We scored two excellent goals... it was good that we avoided penalties because as you know, this is always a lottery."

Paying tribute to his team, Lippi said: "They should be proud of what they've done, proud to have respected all the love and enthusiasm that there is in Italy for them."

Looking forward to Sunday's final against Portugal or France in Berlin, the coach added: "We will see for the next match. I'll watch the match (Portugal-France semi-final) tomorrow. We're going to have to see another strong Italy next Sunday."