Italy reached the final ofEuro 2020 after beatingSpain in a penalty shootout.- After a thrilling 120 minutes of football, the two powerhouses couldn't be separated.
- Italy's Jorginho scored one of the coolest penalties you'll ever see to win the game for the Azzurri.
Italy progressed to the final of Euro 2020 by beating Spain on penalties after a scintillating semifinal in London Tuesday night.
The game finished 1-1 after regular time at Wembley, with a wonderful counter attack goal from Federico Chiesa giving Italy the lead in the 60th minute, before the much-maligned Alvaro Morata levelled the scoring with just ten minutes to go in regular time.
Extra time beckoned, but after a frenetic 30 minutes of additional time, scores were still level. The game was going to penalties.
Both sides missed their opening penalties. Italy's Manuel Locatelli had his shot saved by Spanish goalie Unai Simon, while Spain's Dani Olmo blazed his effort high over the crossbar.
After Locatelli's miss, Italy would score all of its penalties, but Spain missed one more as regular-time scorer Morata saw his effort saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Morata's miss gave former Chelsea teammate Jorginho the chance to send Italy through to a 2nd European championship final in three tournaments, with the Azzurri having lost to Spain in the Euro 2012 final.
Jorginho, a penalty expert, duly obliged with one of the coldest penalties you'll ever witness.
After a languid run up, followed by his trademark hop, the Brazilian-born midfielder coolly slid the ball low to the left of Spain's keeper, sending his teammates, and his whole country, into a frenzy of joy and excitement.
You can see the winning moment below:
-ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 6, 2021
Italy will now face the winner of Wednesday evening's game between England and Denmark in the final, which will be held at Wembley on Sunday.
England is looking to reach a first major final since 1966, while Denmark is aiming for a repeat of its unlikely Euro win in 1992.