Italy coach Marcello Lippi believes "everything is possible" for his side after they beat Ukraine 3-0 in the World Cup quarter-finals to set up a semi-final with hosts Germany in Dortmund.

A first-half strike from Gianluca Zambrotta and two after the break from Luca Toni helped Italy see off the surprise packages and set up what promises to be an appetising match between teams who have both won three World Cups.

Lippi said: "We are proud of what we have achieved and what we are doing and we have a great group of lads.

"Nothing is impossible now and everything is possible - we must now try with all our hearts because anything could happen now."

Lippi was delighted to see Toni rekindle the form that saw him score 31 Serie A goals for Fiorentina last season - more than anyone has managed in the Italian top flight in a single season for 47 years.

"(Francesco) Totti is getting better and Toni scored twice which is very good news for us," said Lippi. "We are getting better still and the other members of the team did their part well."

Italy have now fielded all of their outfield players during the World Cup and Lippi said: "We have been forced during this tournament sometimes to do without players of the calibre of Zambrotta, (Alessandro) Nesta, (Marco) Materazzi and I was delighted with the way a youngster like Andrea Barzagli came into the side and did a job tonight."

Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin was proud of his men after they reached the quarter-finals in their first World Cup as an independent nation - Ukrainians and Russians used to form the bulk of the squads of the former Soviet Union.

Blokhin said: "I am satisfied, very satisfied with the performance because after all we were playing in the World Cup for the first time.

"We made it to the last eight and we have to be pleased about that. The first goal came from a tactical mistake and if we had kept it goalless then Italy would have been put under pressure," said Blokhin, the 1975 European footballer of the year.

"When the score was 1-0 we also had our chances to score and that would have totally transformed the nature of the game."