Italian joy! Coach Robert Mancini’s charges will play for the EURO for the title.
Justin Tallis, Reuters
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Italy sent Federico Chiesa into the lead after an hour of play. 20 minutes later, the equalizing Álvaro Morata equalized. Even the third La Roja duel in the elimination part was not decided by normal playing time. Unlike the quarterfinal duel, the Swiss did not manage the penalty shootout.
For Italy, Belotti, Bonucci, Bernardeschi and Jorginho prevailed in it, for the Spaniards only Moreno and Alcántara. They did not transform the Italian Locatelli and on the other side Olmo with Morata.
???????? Italy through to EURO 2020 final after thrilling shoot-out! ????
WHAT A GAME! ????#EURO2020
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 6, 2021
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Italy managed the third semifinal at the EURO in a row, but won the final only in the domestic tournament in 1968. Coach Robert Mancini’s charges stretched a series of invincibility to 33 matches. La Roja found a winner after 13 matches and failed for the first time in the fifth semifinal of the European Championship. Coincidentally, in the semifinals of this year’s tournament are the teams that played the basic group at home.
Federico Chiesa’s shot (left) flies to the Spanish goal, Italy leads 1: 0!
Facundo Arrizabalaga, ČTK / AP
In the first half, both teams, which competed in the fourth EURO in a row, created a minimum of chances. Olmo did not mature in the lime on the Italian goalkeeper Donnarumm, on the other side Emerson hit the crossbar from an angle. After the break, the Spanish captain overshot Busquets. In the 60th minute, the Italians scored after a quick transfer of the game, when the ball reached Chies, who ended up on the far post.
The Spaniards added at the pace, but Oyarzabal did not reach the center of Koke’s head. They were 15 minutes later. Morata exchanged a balloon with Olm and leveled it with a ground shot from the sixteen. Captain Chiellini prevented the extension of Olm’s wound on the way to the net.
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The alternating Spanish striker Álvaro Morata equalized the state of the EURO semifinals to 1: 1 in regular time.
Frank Augstein, ČTK / AP
Locatelli and Olmo failed in the first series of penalties. However, the team from the Apennine Peninsula did not hesitate in the next four attempts, while the selection of coach Luis Enrique then hesitated once again.
“The toughest match I’ve ever played. Congratulations to Spain for what it has accomplished. Our team has shown the heart, determination and ability to stand out despite difficult times. The Penalty Lottery has rewarded us,” defender Leonardo Bonucci told Rai Sport.
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Thus, the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma caught a penalty for Álvaro Morat and helped his team to the EURO final.
Matt Dunham, ČTK / AP
“What I feel now cannot be described. I want to enjoy these moments with my teammates. We dedicate the victory to the (injured teammate) Spinazzo. He sent us a video before the match,” said goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Bek Spinazzola injured his Achilles tendon in the quarterfinals with Belgium, and he has a break of about six months after the operation.
“It’s a hard blow. We deserved more. Last time we won on penalties, now we lost again. That’s the way it goes,” lamented Spanish defender Jordi Alba. The duel was followed by the highest attendance of the tournament so far, 57,811 spectators.
| European Football Championship – Semifinals (London): |
| Italy – Spain 1: 1 after extra time (1: 1, 0: 0), on penalties 4: 2 |
| Goals: 60. Church – 80. Morata. The penalty was changed: Belotti, Bonucci, Bernardeschi, Jorginho – Moreno, Alcántara. The penalty was not changed: Locatelli – Olmo, Morata. Judges: Brych – Borsch, Lupp – Fritz (video, all German). ZK: Tolói, Bonucci – Busquets. Attendance: 57,811 (limited number). |
| Italy: Donnarumma – Di Lorenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson (74. Tolói) – Barella (85. Locatelli), Jorginho, Verratti (74. Pessina) – Church (107. Bernardeschi), Immobile (61. Berardi), Insigne (85. Belotti). Trenér: Mancini. |
| Spain: Simón – Azpilicueta (85. M. Llorente), García (109. P. Torres), Laporte, Alba – Koke (70. Rodri), Busquets (106. Alcántara), Pedri – F. Torres (62. Morata), Oyarzabal (70. Moreno), Olmo. Trenér: Enrique. |
| Table of the scorers of the European Football Championship: |
| 5 – Schick (Czech Republic), Ronaldo (Portugal), |
| 4 – Benzema (France), Forsberg (Sweden), Lukaku (Belgium), |
| 3 – Seferovic, Shaqiri (both Switzerland), Sterling, Kane (both England), Wijnaldum (Netherlands), Lewandowski (Poland), Morata (Spain), Dolberg, |
| 2 – Mähle, Poulsen (all Denmark), Chiesa, Immobile, Locatelli, Pessina, Insigne (all Italy), F. Torres, Sarabia (both Spain), Yaremchuk, Jarmolenko (both Ukraine), Depay, Dumfries (both Netherlands), Perishic (Croatia), Havertz (Germany), T. Hazard, |
| 1 – Meunier, De Bruyne (all Belgium), Holeš (Czech Republic), Weghorst (Netherlands), Lainer, Gregoritsch, Arnautovic, Baumgartner, Kalajdzic (all Austria), Moore, Ramsey, C. Roberts (all Wales), Pandev, Alioski (both Northern Macedonia), Guerreiro, Jota (both Portugal) ), Linetty (Poland), Gosens, Goretzka (both Germany), Barella (Italy), Embolo, Gavranovic (both Switzerland), Pohjanpalo (Finland), Škriniar (SR), Claesson (Sweden), Oršič, Pašalič, Modrič, Vlašič (all Croatia), Griezmann, Pogba (both France), Fiola, Ádám Szalai, Schäfer (all Hungary), Azpilicueta, Laporte, Oyarzabal (all Spain), Kahveci (Turkey), Braithwaite, Damsgaard, Christensen, Delaney (all Denmark) , Miranchuk, Dzuba (both Russia), McGregor (Scotland), Maguire, Henderson (both England), Dovbyk, Zinchenko (both Ukraine). |
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