Thursday, July 6 2006 16:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Duisburg: Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro said Wednesday the scars left by the team's failure in the past two major tournaments has been the driving force behind their march to the World Cup final.

The three-time champions reached Sunday's Berlin showpiece after defeating hosts Germany 2-0 in Dortmund on Tuesday in extra-time.

With penalties looming, Fabio Grosso and substitute Alessandro Del Piero struck with late goals to break German hearts and send the Azzurri into their sixth World Cup final.

Italy's success here contrasts starkly with their miserable early exits at the 2004 European championships and the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

In Portugal two years ago, they failed to survive the first round group stage.

And in Asia they suffered one of their most humiliating defeats, a controversial 2-1 loss to South Korea in the second round which the Italians blamed on Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno.

"We've accumulated a lot of anger after two major disappointments," said the 32-year-old Cannavaro, who will make his 100th appearance for the Azzurri in Sunday's final where they will meet either France or Portugal.

"First we lost to the host nation in 2002, and that was dubious, and then we failed in Portugal," he said.

"We've put that rage to good use on the pitch, and you can see that at this World Cup. We're turning this anger into something positive," he said.

Cannavaro said he wasn't thinking about surpassing Paolo Maldini's record of 126 Italy caps, and was simply going to enjoy reaching treble figures.

"I'm a long way from Paolo's record," he said.

"I feel that I am reaching an important milestone, and that gives me a great deal of pleasure," he said. Cannavaro revealed that Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who flew in especially for the Germany game, joined him and the team in the post-match celebrations.

"We sang a few songs together in the dressing room. We sang 'O sole mio'," said the former Napoli, Parma and Inter Milan centre-back.

Cannavaro admitted revenge will be on his mind if Italy meet France in the final, having played in the quarter-final defeat to 'Les Bleus' on penalties in the 1998 World Cup.

"That defeat in Paris still hurts," he said.

"I was young, but its still painful. Maybe its a chance for revenge. Let's see what happens. Portugal could beat them," he said.