UEFA Euro Cup: Italy beat Spain, secures spot in the finals
New Delhi: Italy beat Spain 4-2 in the football semi-finals and secured a spot in the finals of the European Championship at Wembley Stadium, London, on Monday.
For the first time in 5 years of the Euro Cup, Spain lost the semi-finals and would not participate in the finals.
The match finished at 1-1 even after extra time. This score led to the announcement of penalty shootouts where Federico Chiesa from Italy gave the lead and scored at the 60th minute whereas substitute Alvaro Morata brought Spain back into the game by scoring at the 80th minute. He later canceled Chiesa’s goal and won a point.
The match turned exciting when Morata missed the final kick-out shootout shot, thereby giving Jorge Luis Frello Frilo, popularly known as Jorginho, a clear opportunity to win the match.
The midfielder did his trademark hop before shooting his final shot. He not only won the match for the team but also secured a spot in the finals.
Álvaro Morata has scored more goals for Spain at the European Championships than any other player in their history, breaking the previous record by Fernando Torres. He scored his 6th goal for the country during the penalty shootouts.
On the other hand, Jorginho converted the decisive penalty kick into a clear shootout win of 4-2 to Italy over Spain in the semi-finals.
Italy will return to the Wembley Stadium for the finals against England or Denmark.
(Avya Mathur)
