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Euro 2020 moments: Italy advance to final with win over Spain in penalty shootout

Published Jul. 6, 2021 6:54 p.m. ET

The first finalist of Euro 2020 was decided with high-stakes drama and, ultimately, a penalty shootout.

Italy clawed past Spain after the match ended 1-1 following extra time, earning a 4-2 win in penalty kicks to book a spot in the final of Euro 2020.

After a first half spent largely feeling each other out, Italy and Spain upped the ante in the second half, with both teams finding the back of the net.

The score remained 1-1 at the end of regular time, meaning fans were in line for 30 more minutes of free soccer! That score held, leading to penalties, where Jorginho hit the decisive penalty.

Here are the biggest moments from Tuesday's semifinal match:

Spain's Luis Enrique threw a bit of a curveball ahead of the match, inserting Mikel Oyarzabal into his starting XI in place of Álvaro Morata in La Furia Roja's attack.

As for Italy, Emerson was a forced change on the left with Leonardo Spinazzola injured in the quarterfinal match against Belgium.

With the lineups announced, it was time to get on the field. And, as is the Italian national team's calling card, the passion and excitement for the game started with the national anthem.

The Italians sparked an early moment of danger in the third minute. Emerson picked out Nicolo Barella in the center of the field and sent the midfielder streaking toward Unai Simón's goal.

He eventually got off a right-footed shot, which rocked Simón's far post, but was adjudged to have been offside on the initial pass from Emerson.

At the 25-minute mark, it was Gianluigi Donnarumma's time to be called into action in Italy's net.

Spain's high line and constant pressure kept Italy pinned back, and Donnarumma's attempt to hoof the ball down the field was collected by the opposition.

The Spaniards moved quickly into attack and with the ball loose inside the danger area, Dani Olmo connected on a snap shot that Donnarumma did well to drop down and parry away to safety.

Spain dictated much of the first half but didn't find a breakthrough. Despite having 61% of the possession in the first half and five total attempts, Spain had just the one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes.

Italy, with 39% of the first-half possession, didn't fare much better. Outside of a shot off the post right before the stroke of halftime, the Italians did very little to trouble Simón.

To put it another way, Donnarumma more first-half touches (24) than any Italian midfielder or attacker, per WhoScored.com.

But the chances began falling in the second half, starting with a goal for Italy off the foot of Federico Chiesa in the 60th minute.

With the deadlock broken, both managers began turning to their respective benches.

A flurry of changes took place over the course of the next 15 minutes. For Italy, Domenico Berardi came on for Ciro Immobile in the 62nd minute, followed by Matteo Pessina for Marco Verratti and Rafael Tolói for Emerson in the 74th minute.

Spain countered with Morata for Ferran Torres in the 62nd and Gerard Moreno for Oyarzabal and Rodri for Koke in the 70th.

Morata's selection paid off, as the 28-year-old forward combined with Olmo to slot home and knot things up 1-1. To make matters more painful for the Azzurri, Berardi nearly had a second for Italy just moments before Morata leveled things up.

Both managers made a few more changes at the 85-minute mark, presumably to get some fresh legs on for the looming extra-time period.

The game remained tied through regular time, sending the contest to extra time — Spain's third consecutive extra-time match.

Though nobody scored in the second half, special mention must be made of Spain youngster Pedri, who continued to acquit himself with the poise of a veteran despite being just 18 years old.

The two halves of extra time had their moments, but neither team could deliver the killer blow to snap the 1-1 tie.

With the game still knotted at one apiece at the end of extra time, it was time to go to the penalty spot.

Simón stopped Italy's first penalty, but Olmo's follow for Spain soared over the crossbar, leaving it 0-0 after the first round of kicks.

The next three Italians converted their attempts, as did the next two Spaniards, making it 3-2 in favor of Italy when Morata stepped up to take his penalty.

Unfortunately for Morata, his shot to Donnarumma's left was rather easily saved by the keeper.

That left it up to Jorginho to seal the deal for Italy.

And with a trademark run-and-hop routine, he calmly put the ball in the back of the net and put Italy in the Euro final for the first time since 2012.

Now, Italy, riding a 33-game unbeaten streak, will wait to see who their opponent in the final will be.

England and Denmark take the same field at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET to determine the final of Euro 2020.

If it's as drama-filled as Tuesday's semifinal ⁠— buckle up!

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