Mancini hails 'extraordinary' Italy after Barella and Insigne see off Belgium
Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne put the Azzurri two goals ahead by the 44th minute, but Belgium pulled one back before the interval courtesy of a Romelu Lukaku penalty.
Euro 2020 Quarterfinal 2: Italy vs Belgium Statistical Highlights: Azzurri burn bright to enter semis
The Azzurri held on to extend their unbeaten run to 32 games, however, and will now play Spain at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday after Luis Enrique’s side overcame Switzerland on penalties earlier in the day.
Italy have now reached the semi-finals of a major tournament for the 12th time – the only European nation to do so more is Germany (20 times).
The result also meant Mancini became only the second coach in European Championship history to win each of his first five matches in the competition finals after Michel Hidalgo, who won all five of his matches in charge of France at the 1984 edition.
“We deserved the victory,” Mancini told RAI Sport. “The lads were extraordinary, and clearly we suffered in the last 10 minutes as we were really tired, but we could’ve scored more goals earlier.
