BEIJING, May 8 -- Vitor Hugo Gomes Passos and Julio Cruz scored second-half goals and Inter Milan defeated Lazio 2-0 to earn the Nerazzurri a spot in the Italian Cup final.

    Gomes Passos, nicknamed "Pele," connected in the 52nd minute on a hard shot from inside the area. Cruz scored in the 85th with Inter playing with 10 men due to the expulsion two minutes earlier of defender Marco Materazzi for a hard foul.

    After playing to a scoreless draw in the first leg, Inter fielded a team largely of second-choice players while resting its regulars for Sunday's league game against Siena.

    A win Sunday will clinch Inter's third-straight Italian league championship.

    Lazio had several good chances in the first half as the Rome-based team sought an early goal and a win that would have saved a disappointing season. Cristian Ledesma hit the post on a free kick in the second minute and Lazio's strikers Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev each came close before the end of the half.

    "We play pretty well, but we have trouble scoring and that happened again tonight," Lazio coach Delio Rossi said. "We really wanted this game and the team is very disappointed."

    Lazio - mired in 13th place in Italy's Serie A with 41 points, 40 behind league leader Inter - also was unable to score in the first leg despite creating many good scoring chances.

    A win and a spot in the May 24 final would have given Lazio a shot at qualifying for the UEFA Cup next year.

    Inter, which won the Italian Cup in 2005 and 2006, will face the winner of the other semifinal between Roma and Catania to be played today. Roma won the first leg at home 1-0.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)