Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Italy Bumped From World Cup as Paraguay, Slovakia Advance VOA News 24 June 2010 Slovakia's Kamil Kopunek celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup group F soccer match between Slovakia and Italy in Johannesburg, 24 Jun 2010 Photo: AP Slovakia's Kamil Kopunek celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup group F soccer match between Slovakia and Italy in Johannesburg, 24 Jun 2010 Football's reigning World Cup champion, Italy, has been defeated by Slovakia 3-2 and is eliminated from the tournament after the group stage. Thursday's win in Johannesburg gave Slovakia four points in the opening round and propelled the team to a second-place finish in Group F. Slovakia's striker Robert Vittek scored twice and Kamil Kopunek added a third goal in the 89th minute. The team was able to withstand a late run by Italy, including goals from Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella, who scored in stoppage time. Slovakia will play the winner of Group E in the first round of the elimination stage on Monday.  Both the 2006 World Cup champions, Italy, and that year's runner-up, France, have been eliminated in the first round of this year's tournament. Paraguay's 0-0 draw with New Zealand in Polokwane was enough to give the team first-place in Group F and a trip to the Round of 16. Paraguay finished group play with five points and will advance for just the fourth time in its history. New Zealand finished with three points - ahead of Italy but still not enough to enter the knockout round of the competition. Paraguay will play the runners-up of Group E on Tuesday. In two Group E matches still in progress Thursday, the Netherlands is playing last-place Cameroon in a match that will have no effect on the standings. Japan is playing Denmark in Rustenburg, with the winner joining the Dutch in the elimination round. .