a Gianfranco Zola goal. Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 World Cup alongside the experienced and capable Giuseppe Bergomi, Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini, as well as the emerging Alessandro Nesta. The squad itself being coached by Paolo Maldini's father, Cesare Maldini. Cannavaro made several strong performances throughout the tournament, although Italy eventually went out in the quarter-finals to hosts and eventual champions France, in a match where Cannavaro suffered a cut to his forehead following an elbow by Stéphane Guivarc'h. The Azzurri managed a 0–0 draw with the match eventually being decided by a penalty shoot-out in favour of the hosts. Euro 2000 Final, 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 At Euro 2000, under manager Dino Zoff, Cannavaro had a strong tournament, playing as centre-back alongside either Alessandro Nesta, Mark Iuliano or Paolo Maldini in 3–5–2 formation. The Italian defence only conceded two goals en route to the final: one against Turkey, and one against Sweden, both in the group stage, keeping three clean sheets in total. The Azzurri reached the final after defeating the Netherlands on penalties following a goalless draw in regulation time. Italy led the then world champions France 1–0 going into injury time. However, Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the final minute of injury time, and an extra-time golden goal from David Trezeguet gave France the title. Cannavaro was elected as part of the Team of the Tournament for his performances. At the 2002 World Cup, under manager Giovanni Trapattoni, Cannavaro was credited with holding the defence together almost single-handedly after his usual defensive partner Alessandro Nesta was injured against Croatia. This injury, alongside several errors by match officials, dealt a severe blow to Italy's chances of winning the World Cup; the side having relied heavily on the Cannavaro–Nesta partnership in central defence. Marco Materazzi, who deputised for Nesta, put in performances that were below his usual standards. Cannavaro picked up two yellow card during the group stage and was suspended for the round of 16 match, meaning Italy would be left without their two starting centre-backs. Italy went out controversially in the second round, losing to co-hosts and eventual semi-finalists South Korea, once again to a golden goal. Cannavaro had a difficult act to follow when he took over as captain from Paolo Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his leadership, calming influence and inspirational performances,