Penalty thriller at Wembley: Italy is in the final

Pure drama at Wembley! The London football temple was the scene of a semi-final thriller on Tuesday evening, in which Italy came out on top, winning 4-2 on penalties. After 120 minutes the score was 1-1. Spain was visually superior throughout the game, but once again one of the qualities that made Italy so strong in these weeks came to the fore: team unity and calmness.

After Federico Chiesa gave his team the lead at the start of the second half, Alvaro Morata equalized in the 80th minute. Despite being dominant in play, Spain subsequently failed to break through the Italian defense. As a result, the game went into extra time and ultimately into a penalty shootout, where Morata, of all people, became a tragic figure. He missed the fourth penalty, which is why Jorginho made everything clear with his try straight after. Italy will therefore fight for its second European championship title on Sunday. The opponent will be determined between England and Denmark on Wednesday evening. Spain has more of the game, but... Italy found it difficult to get into the game on Tuesday evening. Roberto Mancini's squad kept the tempo high in the first few minutes, but then the Spaniards took the reins and let the Squadra Azzurra run. Something like that had rarely happened to Italy in this tournament. But even though the Iberians were visually superior in the first half, they were rarely really concrete.

Chiesa (left) hits the far corner with a shot to make it 1-0, Spain goalie Unai Simon is frustrated. © APA/afp / MATT DUNHAM

Mikel Oyarzabal, who was given preference over Morata, blocked the ball alone in front of Gigi Donnarumma (12th), then Italy's keeper showed all his skills with a Dani Olmo shot from eleven meters. The kickers from the boot state had their best opportunity in the 45th minute when Leonardo Spinazzola substitute Emerson hit the outside edge of the crossbar from a tight angle. Chiesa scores, Morata answers After the break, little changed in this picture. Sergio Busquets tried a direct shot, but it went just over (52'). The Spanish opening goal – it was in the air. But Federico Chiesa had something against it: the Azzurri surprised the Spanish defense with a lightning-fast counterattack, the Juve winger took advantage of the disorder, hit a hook in the middle and put the ball with a flick into the far corner - 1-0 for Italy , Wembley Stadium raged.

But Spain didn't let this upset them and still had a trump card in Morata, who was made out to be a scapegoat in the first few games because of his many missed chances. After his substitution, the Juve striker was fired up like a bull and redeemed his team in the 80th minute: a wonderful interaction with Olmo brought him alone in front of the goal, where he casually slotted in to make it 1-1. A penalty thriller As a result, both teams fought a tough battle in which Spain continued to have more of the game, but Italy defended cleverly. There was no goal in either regular time or extra time. So penalties had to be taken. And here there was a real crime thriller: Manuel Locatelli (held) and Dani Olmo (over) promptly failed in their first attempt. After that, every player scored – except for Morata. And Italy's celebration knew no bounds.

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Penalty thriller at Wembley: Italy is in the final

Italy's fairy tale continues! The Azzurri beat Spain on penalties in an exciting semi-final and are now in the final of the European Championship.

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