LONDON (Reuters) - Italy needed to fight until the extra time to see off their last-16 opponents Austria 2-1 at the European Championship in London on Saturday.
The Azzurri launched attack one after another since start of the match. They could easily push to the front but failed to achieve any goal when facing the tough defense from Austria.
After the interval, Austria threatened more often in the box while the Italian players showed sign of impatience.
In the 65th minute, Marko Arnautovic headed home for Austria from close range, but the goal was declared offside.
A scoreless tie in the regular time saw the game at Wembley went into extra time. Italy made breakthrough soon as late substitute Federico Chiesa swept home a small angled shot near the post in the 95th minute.
Ten minutes later, Matteo Pessina added a second for Italy while Austria pulled one back with Sasa Kalajdzic’s header in the closing stage.
Italy will face the winners between defending champions Portugal and Belgium in the quarterfinals.