The Udinese striker put Marcello Lippi's team ahead in the eighth minute but the Cypriots restored parity on the half-hour mark through Stathis Aloneftis.

The hosts had numerous chances to grab a second but could not find a way past Gianluigi Buffon for a second time and paid the ultimate price in stoppage time when Di Natale struck again.

There was also late drama in Podgorica, where a late leveller by Bulgaria'sBlagoi Georgiev earned his team a 2-2 draw against Montenegro.

The Montenegrins were embarking upon their first World Cup qualifying campaign as an independent nation following splitting with Serbia in 2006.

Mirko Vucinic struck his country's first goal on their competitive debut in international competition just after the hour mark, cancelling out Stiliyan Petrov's early opener.

Stevan Jovetic looked to have won it for the hosts nine minutes from time when he converted a penalty following an incident which saw Stanislav Angelov dismissed.

But Georgiev salvaged a dramatic 2-2 draw for Bulgaria with a stoppage-time equaliser.

In Saturday's other match in Group Eight, Republic of Ireland edged Georgia 2-1 in a game played at the neutral venue of Mainz due to concerns over the ongoing political situation in Georgia.

Leading 1-0 at the break through Kevin Doyle's 13th-minute header, Giovanni Trapattoni's side might have doubled their advantage when Robbie Keane's 57th-minute shot came back off the post.

However, Glenn Whelan made sure of the points with a long-range 70th-minute strike - his first senior international goal - after the Georgians had briefly threatened a fightback, although Levan Kenia collected a consolation strike deep into stoppage time.