The Italy players celebrate after their penalty shootout victory
(Picture: Getty Images)England will have to defeat Italy to get their hands on the Euro 2020 trophy – if they make it past Denmark at Wembley on Wednesday.
And some fans were pleased and relieved to see Italy conquer Spain on penalties – because they thought the Spanish side looked a tougher prospect to beat.
after today’s game i’d rather play italy than spain😭 italy looked decent at best today, had good spells but spain out played them, unlucky for them
— Reag (@DelayMaGiiKz) July 6, 2021
Having watched that I’d rather play Italy than Spain. Either would have been tough but we might have found Spain cut through our defence while Italy will play on break which suits England in my opinion. #EURO2020 #England #ENGDEN
— Neil Dawson (@neilderek69) July 6, 2021
Gutted for Spain, they was brilliant. If England get through I’d rather they play Italy than Spain. Italy are excellent though, that was such a good game tonight. What a tournament. #ITASPA
— Lenny Sherman (@GlenLenSherman) July 6, 2021
Federico Chiesa scored in the 60th minute, before Alvaro Morata equalized. But after a goalless extra-time period, it came down to penalties.
And it was a miss by Morata that opened the door for Federico Bernardeschi to slot home, sending the Italians through to the final on Sunday.
The game itself was wild and exciting:
Tempo been mad in this game!! Italy proving how tough they are to play against! #ITASPA
— 🔰 Flex 🔰 (@FlexUTD) July 6, 2021
This match is wonderful.
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) July 6, 2021
Italy take the lead via a cracker from Chiesa #ITASPA
Ooooo this match is a bit good #ITASPA
— Ellen Rose (@icklenellierose) July 6, 2021
England beat Ukraine in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 and play Denmark in the semis on Wednesday.
Unlike the last game against Ukraine in Rome, the semi-final is at Wembley of all places, with 60,000 fans in attendance which means the place will be rocking.
Unlike previous false dawns, it really is starting to feel like football is coming home. This run feels legit, with a clean sheet kept in every game and a jaw-droppingly dominant performance which saw England put four past Ukraine on the road in Rome.
But some fans were a bit nervous that some pundits are talking like England had already sailed past Denmark:
Rio Ferdinand: “If I was England, would I rather play Spain or Italy? It doesn’t matter, England take care of both of these teams. England are better than both of them.”
— TalkFCB © (@talkfcb_) July 6, 2021
Wednesday’s tie is England’s first European Championship semi-final for 25 years.
There was no ‘easy’ team to face out of Italy and Spain – they are ranked 7th and 6th in the world respectively.
England, incredibly, are ranked fourth, and are the highest-ranked side still remaining in the tournament.
