Italy coach Cesare Prandelli was proud of the passion his players displayed for victory over the Republic of Ireland.

Prandelli says Italy can "achieve anything with this heart" after they pushed past Ireland to reach the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.

"Suffering, joy, everything!" he said of the 2-0 victory decided by Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli.

"This was a very, very difficult game, as we faced a great team with great fans. This is sport, we accepted suffering in some moments, but we deserved this.

"Today we probably understood that we have to put beyond quality and style also determination. We can achieve anything with this heart.

"We really wanted this victory and at the end of the day I think we deserved to go through.

"Now in the quarter-finals we must maintain the same attitude, effort and spirit of sacrifice. We always try to play good football and hope to make more of our chances."