Italy 1-1 (4-2 on pens.) Spain
Italy are one step closer to the prestigious Euro 2020 trophy as they defeated Spain in an enthralling semifinals encounter at Wembley.
Federico Chiesa gave the Italians the lead after both teams failed to score, but Alvaro Morata came off the bench to draw Spain level late in regulation.
Neither country was able to find the winning goal in extra time, so the tie went to penalties and Jorginho scored the penalty kick that ultimately decided the game in Italy’s favour.
This was arguably the toughest game for the Azzurri in this tournament, but Roberto Mancini now has led them to 33 straight games undefeated and they have one more roadblock in their path towards the Henri Delaunay trophy.
Without further ado, let’s recall last night’s game as SBOTOP takes a look at the Euro 2020 highlights.
Highlights of the game
Italy and Spain fans probably had a hard time sleeping last night since the match had a lot of nerve-wracking moments.
The Azzurri got their first chance at goal inside four minutes when Nicolo Barella — who was one of the heroes against Belgium — hit the post but the offside flag was raised.
After that sequence, Pedri showed off his crisp passing when he fed Mikel Oyarzabal with a through ball but the Real Sociedad winger failed to control the ball and then Ferran Torres drilled his shot too wide.
Emerson was called up to replace the injured Leonardo Spinazzola and he linked up with Lorenzo Insigne on the 21st minute. However, Italy couldn’t convert as Ciro Immobile and Nicolo Barella couldn’t find an angle to shoot despite Unai Simon being left out of position.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was tested by Spain in a couple of instances by Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal, but Italy had the final say in the first half when Emerson raced past multiple Spanish defenders for a narrowly missed attempt.
The intense back-and-forth continued in the second half as Ciro Immobile, Federico Chiesa, and Mikel Oyarzabal had their opportunities. However, Italy’s counterattack at the hour mark broke the deadlock.
Lorenzo Insigne tried to feed Ciro Immobile but his pass was tipped by Aymeric Laporte. However, Federico Chiesa was there to pick it up and he curled in a beautiful ball into the far corner to spark a huge celebration for the Azzurri supporters.
With Spain’s backs against the wall, it was their turn to amp up the pressure for Italy and they got more chances from Mikel Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo.
But with 10 minutes left in regulation, Luis Enrique’s men found the equaliser thanks a cool finish by the much-maligned Alvaro Morata after a brilliant one-two sequence with Dani Olmo.
In extra time, Italy had the opportunity to steal the game but Aymeric Laporte and Pau Torres thwarted Domenico Berardi and Andrea Belotti’s forays at goal.
Dani Olmo failed to capitalise on Manuel Locatelli’s first miss in the penalties. And after five successive makes by both sides, Jorginho broke the hearts of La Roja when he scored after a saved Alvaro Morata penalty.
Key statistics
Italy vs Spain is the most played fixture amongst European countries in major tournament history (10). Yesterday was the 10th time that they have competed in a penalty shootout at a major tournament as well.
The Azzurri have now reached their 10th major tournament final as they progressed to the final of the Euros for the fourth time.
Italy’s last European Championship trophy dates back to 1968. They lost the 2000 and 2012 finals and they’ll hope for a better result this time at Wembley especially since they’re the favoured team in the Euro 2020 odds.
Spain had won all five previous semis in major tournaments and last night’s loss snapped their 100-per cent run.
Alvaro Morata has scored more goals than any other Spain player in this competition (6).
Pedri became the first European player in a major tournament to start six matches at the age of 18 or under. His impact in the middle has been profound yesterday as he completed 65 out of his 67 passes total.
The Barca youngster has been the breakout star for La Roja in this competition. Pedri has been playing so well to the point that Luis Enrique even compared him to Andres Iniesta.
After scoring only once in his first 28 international caps, Federico Chiesa now has scored twice in his past three games for Italy.
What’s next?
Italy will take a breather as they’ll wait for the winner of the other semis fixture between England and Denmark tomorrow.
Spain, on the other hand, will have a few weeks to prepare before they continue their World Cup qualifiers journey against Sweden on September 3.
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