Del Piero celebrates the equaliser (Allsport).

Click here to place your World Cup bets!
Click here for Italy team section
Click here for teams index
Click here for latest World Cup headlines
Click here for World Cup photo gallery
Click here for World Cup Bettingzone

Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni believes his players have the spirit that could take them far in the World Cup.

Trapattoni said his players showed "maturity" and a "never-say-die" attitude in Thursday's 1-1 draw with Mexico in Oita, adding that they "deserved to go through" to the second round as Group G runners-up.

Croatia's 1-0 defeat by Ecuador meant Italy would have qualified even without Alessandro Del Piero's late equaliser.

Trapattoni said: "We deserved a draw and to go through. Between the first and the third match - and I want to add that the second match was not that bad - I think that the team deserved to go through.

"Overall this is a team that makes few mistakes, despite the heavy criticism coming from Italy.

"I have to praise my players because after having conceded a goal, created some good chances and had another goal disallowed, they did not lose their heads but kept believing.

"When we reached the dressing room at half-time they believed they could make it. This is the sign of a mature team."

The 63-year-old added: "I don't say this often, but the first thing I thought was 'God is fair, he exists!' The boys have given everything they could and I would like to congratulate them all."

Italy narrowly avoided joining France and Argentina as surprise first-round casualties, taking second place in the group with four points after beating Ecuador and losing to Croatia prior to the draw with Mexico.

Their survival instincts have helped them through tight situations before - they drew all three group matches in 1982 but went on to win the trophy, while they squeezed through the group stage as one of the best third-placed sides in 1994 and reached the final.

Trapattoni suggested that, with the Group D winners to come next, they could go from strength to strength once more.

"Having reached the next round, we can now make a new start," he said. "There is a lot of enthusiasm in the dressing room and this is very important.

"I don't have any preferences between Korea, United States or Portugal. They have all played well."

However, Trapattoni hopes for some kinder refereeing in the next match.

Filippo Inzaghi had a goal harshly ruled out for offside before Jared Borgetti's 34th-minute opener for Mexico - adding to the two goals the Azzurri had ruled out in losing 2-1 to Croatia.

"I don't want to complain about the referee's decisions - in a World Cup there are always difficult situations to manage," he said.

"But when you see all these mistakes you start thinking that our refs back home are probably not that bad in the end. It's sad that there are so many mistakes which are affecting us."