Euro 2020: Italy beat Spain on penalties to enter fourth final
Italy are through to the final of Euro 2020 after a hard fought victory in the semi-final over three-time champions Spain at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, which will also be the venue for the summit clash.
Italian goal-keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved the penultimate spot kick from Alvaro Morata to set up the win for his team. Jorginho converted the decisive penalty kick to give Italy a 4-2 shootout win. The midfielder took a trademark hop at the end of his run-up before rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
EURO 2020 Semifinal: ITALY vs SPAIN – Highlights
The match had finished 1-1 through extra time. Federico Chiesa scored for Italy with a curling shot in the 60th minute, a goal that came against the run of play as Spain dominated possession and had several close chances till then.
Spain coach Luis Enrique, who left his striker Morata on the bench to go for a pacy front three sensed the need for change and brought the Juventus forward on in the 62nd minute. That substitution bore fruit as Morata equalized for Spain in the 80th minute, with an assist from the nimble-footed Dani Olmo, who had been a thorn in Italy’s flesh throughout the match.
As luck would have it, both Olmo and Morata fluffed their lines in the penalty shootout as the Italians made up for their loss to the Spaniards on penalties in Euro 2008, at the quarter-final stage.
