Italy will meet Spain at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday to qualify for the Euro 2020 final.
Italy reached the Euro 2020 semifinals with a 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday as early goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne set up an exciting match against the first team in the world.
Barella fired home after 31 minutes after Insigne had twice doubled their chances at the end of half-time Romelu Lukaku before returning to Belgium for the first half.
Both teams had a chance to take a break after the break, but Roberto Mancini’s side won 13 in a row to extend their unbeaten run in 32 games.
They will face Spain at Wembley on Tuesday to secure a place in the final after Luis Enrique’s side beat Switzerland 3-1 in a shootout after Opponents are fighting 1-1 After adding even lower to 10 men.
Italy got off to a great start when Leonardo Bonucci connected the ball into the net 13 minutes after the free kick, but his celebrations were shortened when he was sent off.
Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma made a one-man save to reject midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who was fit to start with an injury in Belgium’s last game, before the midfielder tested Lukaku.
Belgium greatly missed their captain Eden Hazard, ruled out with a back injury, just as De Bruyne injured his knee.
The Azzurri took the lead when Barella headed in at the very end holding two defenders in the box. It was 10th goal in Italy, especially in the European competition.
Italy looked to have completed the long half when the winning Insigne extended their lead, but Belgium cut the lead three minutes later when Giovanni Di Lorenzo hit Jeremy Doku in the box and Lukaku reversed the penalty.
Leonardo Spinazzola did his best to keep Lukaku from being the same after the holiday, but on the eve of the Italian full-back he cried and cried as he was carried to the cross by a neurological problem.
The celebrant Doku caused problems for the Azzurri defense all night and threatened to take the same amount of time when he cut from the wing to score goals, but it went a few inches above the bar.
Belgian scorer Thibaut Courtois was disappointed but paid tribute to the Italians.
“It’s very striking but we know it’s going to be a tough game. We had two chances but their manager kept it well and I think we scored the first goal a bit, “he said.
“It’s possible even then, but Italy has to win here.”
Spain beat Italy 4-0 at the end of 2012 but Italy bounced back: 2-0 in the last 16 games in 2016 with professional prowess.
Mancini’s men are expecting the same thing right away as they seem to have fallen behind with better performance compared to their last 16 final victories in Austria and more in line with their three-team success.
“We deserved to win. The boys were really good and we could have scored more goals, ”said Mancini.
“We didn’t have a small goal in the competition, we wanted to achieve what was possible. There are two more games – we’ll see what happens.”
