UEFA Euro 2020:Italy hold nerve to reach final at Wembley at the expense of Spain
Italy book a final date at Wembley again in dramatic after Italy’s dramatic Euros semi-final penalty shootout win over Spain counterpart 4-2 in the capital, London following a thrilling 1-1 draw at Wembley stadium.
Italy started brightly but Spain began to take control in midfield over the first minutes of the encounter and managed to reach the Italian penalty area several times but the finishing lacked accuracy before reaching the goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The first clear chance came on 25 minutes when Dani Olmo, spearheading the Spain attack after being picked ahead of Morata, pounced on a loose ball but was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Later in the first half Italy threatened down the left, Emerson clipping the woodwork with a shot across goal. The opening period had only simmered but the second half boiled over with chances, Ciro Immobile and Sergio Busquets going close before Chiesa forced a save from Unai Simón. On the hour mark, that man Chiesa broke the deadlock, picking up a loose ball on the edge of the box, cutting inside and curling a shot inside the far post.
Spain responded well, Mikel Oyarzabal and Olmo looking menacing. At the other end, Chiesa showed his pace to set up substitute Domenico Berardi, blocked by Unai Simón. Berardi, again, nearly doubled the advantage with ten minutes left but once more could not beat the Spain keeper; La Roja went straight up the other end and Morata, brought on after the Italy goal, levelled following a smart passing exchange with Olmo.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged attacks on the goal, and Busquets had an opportunity in the fifty-second minute, and he aimed it over the crossbar of Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma, Chiesa responded to it with an Italian chance, but it ended in the arms of goalkeeper Simon in the fifty-third minute,,, and Italy bounced with a quick attack started by goalkeeper Donnarumma.
In extra time, Italy somehow survived a succession of shots in which both Olmo and Morata had efforts repelled, and shortly afterwards Marcos Llorente was similarly frustrated by Leonardo Bonucci. But it went to penalties, Unai Simón saving the first kick from Manuel Locatelli and Olmo then missing. Spain's fourth attempt from Morata was stopped by Donnarumma and Jorginho coolly slotted in the winner.
With neither side able to find the winning goal in extra-time, the tie went to penalties with Jorginho scoring the decisive penalty kick after Morata's miss to send Italy through to its first major international final since Euro 2012.
Miguel Oyarzabal responded with a Spanish shot that crossed the post of Italy's goal in the 64th minute, an attack from here and another from There is a center of control and concentration better than the Italians who tried to score a second goal, but the frivolity of the attackers and their urgency to shoot at Simon's goal, and here Luis Enrique intervened with the substitutions, so Alvaro Morata and Rodrigo entered Hernandez, and Gerard Moreno to strengthen the front line of Spain, Alvaro Morata succeeded in returning to the Spaniards when he managed to equalize for his country in the 80th minute ... to end the match in a 1-1 draw, and the two teams entered in two additional games. The first session ended without a change in the result, and in the quarter The last hour did not change the picture, so the two teams resorted to the penalty shootout, which smiled at Italy with four kicks for two, and Italy reserved a seat in the final match.
German referee, Felix Brych, who was familiar to players on both teams from his work in the Champions League, led this exciting match.