The Dutch were lucky to take a 26th-minute lead after Ruud van Nistelrooy turned in Giovanni van Bronckhorst's effort from an offside position.

Wesley Sneijder then celebrated his 24th birthday in style by adding his team's second on the half-hour mark following a superb counter-attack. Van Bronckhorst completed a wonderful evening for the Oranje by heading past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in the 79th minute as Holland celebrated their first victory against the Italians since the 1978 World Cup.

Italy had numerous chances to reduce the deficit in the second half but Edwin van der Sar came to the rescue making stunning saves from Andrea Pirlo's free-kick and then Fabio Grosso's close-range effort.

The atmosphere at the Stade de Suisse was electric with the Oranje fans far outnumbered the Azzurri supporters. The duel between coaches and former AC Milan club team-mates Marco van Basten and Roberto Donadoni also added an extra edge to the encounter.

Holland were lucky to break the deadlock with Van Nistelrooy in an offside position before tapping the ball past Buffon.

It didn't take long for Holland to strike again. Van Bronckhorst's long ball found Dirk Kuyt on the other flank and he served Sneijder inside the area, whose first-touch beat Buffon.

Three minutes before the break, Buffon made a stunning save to deny Holland their third of the evening. A beautiful ball by Sneijder found Van Nistelrooy whose strike was parried by Buffon.

Just when Italy looked to have found their rhythm, Holland scored their third. The goal came following another counter-attack with Buffon doing well initially to deny Kuyt. However, the rebound fell at the feet of the Liverpool forward who composed himself before crossing to an unmarked Van Bronckhorst who headed past Buffon.