The latest news from the European Football Championship:
___
Italy reached the final of the European Championship by defeating Spain 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Jorginho scored the decisive penalty after Gianluigi Donnarumma blocked a shot from Álvaro Morata.
Italy will face England or Denmark in the final on Sunday.
___
Italy and Spain head to the penalty shoot-out in the European Championship semi-finals with a 1-1 draw in overtime.
The winner will meet England or Denmark in the final on Sunday.
___
Italy and Spain head to extra time in the European Championship semi-finals with a 1-1 draw.
Spanish substitute Álvaro Morata scored the equalizer in the 80th minute after exchanging passes with forward Dani Olmo. His low shot defeated Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Italy advanced in the 60th minute with a goal from Federico Chiesa. The winger sent a ball between Spain defenders Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia in the far corner.
___
Italy and Spain drew 0-0 at the end of the first half in the semi-finals of the European Championship, without the two teams creating clear chances.
Spanish striker Dani Olmo came close to scoring, but his shot from close range was easily blocked by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. La Roja had a good chance again in the 15th minute when an attempt by winger Ferran Torres from outside the area passed the near post.
Italy had one last chance when Emerson hit the crossbar in the 45th minute.
___
The Eurocopa match between Italy and Spain started at Wembley Stadium.
The winner will meet England or Denmark in the final on Sunday.
___
Italy and Spain entered the field to prepare for the semi-finals of the European Championship at Wembley Stadium.
The Italian goalkeepers withdrew just under an hour before the scheduled start of the match. Gianluigi Donnarumma and sponsors Salvatore Sirigu and Alex Merritt clapped in front of the jubilant Italy fans behind their goal.
Spain’s goalkeepers came out after a five-minute warm-up routine before the full crews of both teams emerged.
Fans still flock to Wembley and the back of the field begins to fill up. Approximately 60,000 people can watch the game. Only around 40,000 were able to participate in England’s match against Germany in the round of 16 on June 29.
___
Spain have eliminated Álvaro Morata for the semi-final match against Italy in the European Championship and will play without a recognized striker.
Morata has started every match so far at Euro 2020 despite widespread criticism of his struggles in front of goal.
Mikel Oyarzabal usually plays as a winger, but will be in the lead against Italy. Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo will be on both sides of Oyarzabal.
Emerson Palmieri replaces the injured Leonardo Spinazzola on Italy’s left back as expected. Federico Chiesa was selected ahead of Domenico Berardi on the right wing.
___
Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci danced alone in the rain at Wembley Stadium 90 minutes before his team faced Spain in the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Bonucci wore a gray jacket and dark blue pants and greeted the few fans who had already entered the field.
Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini played an important role in Italy’s success in the tournament. Italy have conceded just two goals at Euro 2020 so far.
Several players from Spain came out of the tunnel after about 10 minutes and spoke on the field after the rain stopped.
The winner of the final will play either England or Denmark in the final on Sunday.
___
Thousands of flag-raising fans from Italy and Spain living in Great Britain flocked to Wembley Stadium to watch their teams play in the semi-finals of the European Championship.
Fans from abroad can only enter the match if they follow the strict quarantine rules imposed by the British government.
This allowed the many Italians and Spaniards residing in the country to take advantage of the tickets available more easily. They came in droves and chanted and chanted loudly outside the stadium.
Just on Saturday, Spain fan Melissa Russell Escrichoela and her friends decided to buy tickets.
“It started almost as a joke and then we saw that there were fines. So we said let’s do it, ”says the 25-year-old business analyst.
Three of his group are Spanish and one Italian.
___
The European Football Association (UEFA) has invited Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen to the final of the European Championship, along with the nurses who helped save his life.
Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during his team’s opening game against Finland on June 12 after suffering cardiac arrest. He had to be resuscitated with a pacemaker.
Denmark will play England on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the 2020 European Championship. The final is scheduled for Sunday.
___
Italy and Spain will meet in the round of 16 of the fourth consecutive European Championship.
Spain beat Italy at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 and won the title each time. Five years ago, the Italians won Euro 2016, but then lost to Germany in the quarterfinals.
The 2020 European Championship semi-finals will be held at Wembley Stadium in London.
The winner will face England or Denmark on Sunday in the final. That match will also be played at Wembley.
___
More from AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
–
