Spain 0 - 0 Italy (Pens. 4-2)

With the Spanish and Italians both showing each other too much respect in the opening stages, chances were few and far between. David Villa had a 25th minute free-kick that Buffon saved easily. Silva then tried his luck, cutting in from the right before curling a left-footed strike past the post. The first half ended in stalemate, the Azzurri putting up an impenetrable backline while doing very little up-top. Spain continued to threaten after the break, Silva swiveled in the box, but a timely slide from Chiellini denied the Spaniard his opportunity. On the hour mark Aragones went for the win, taking off Iniesta and Xavi for Febregas and Santi, but it was the Italians who suddenly sparked into life with a goalmouth scramble that ended with Casillas brilliantly stopping Camoranesi’s shot. Yet the Spanish continued to press, and Gigi Buffon almost had egg on his face, spilling Marcos Senna’s swerving shot only to see the ball hit the post. For the third night in succession the 90 minutes ended in deadlock, forcing the game into extra-time. Spain, and particularly Silva, continued to look for the elusive goal. At the other end, Di Natale forced Casillas into a tidy save from a header. With neither team finding a goal in extra-time to game moved to penalties. Villa, Grosso and Santi all scored their spot-kicks. Casillas then produced a wonder-save to deny De Rossi. Senna and Camoranesi both scored, only for Buffon to block Guiza’s effort. But then Casillas stole the show, turning aside Di Natale’s penalty, with Fabregas scoring the winner. Spain finally do away with their “June 22nd” curse, setting up a mouth-watering tie with the Russians, who the beat 4-1 in the first round of the groups.

Tags : Uefa Euro 2008 Tournament, euro2008, uero2008

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