Italy Edge Belgium in Thriller to Set Up Spain Semi

Date: 03 July 2021 - 22:08

News ID: ۹۱۹۹۰

LONDON (Dispatches) - Two first-half goals were enough to get Italy past Belgium and into the semifinals of Euro 2020.
Italy held off Belgium’s myriad attempts for a tying goal in the second half on the way to a 2-1 win in a riveting quarterfinal in Munich on Friday afternoon.
The winning goal was scored by Lorenzo Insigne in the 45th minute. His curler into the top right corner beat Thibault Courtois after none of Belgium’s defenders stepped up to prevent the long-range shot.
Belgium got a goal back two minutes later when Romelu Lukaku converted a penalty kick after a shove in the penalty area. But that was the only goal Belgium would score.

Spain Beat Switzerland

Three-time champions Spain survived another scare to beat 10-man Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout to reach the semifinals of the European Championship.
Swiss substitute Ruben Vargas was in tears at full-time after he blasted his penalty over the bar, allowing Mikel Oyarzabal to score the decider for Spain.
Spain, ranked sixth in the world, also needed extra time to defeat Croatia in the last 16 despite leading 3-1 with five minutes of normal time to play.
They were in front in St Petersburg against Switzerland too - midfielder Denis Zakaria deflected Jordi Alba’s shot into his own net to give Spain an early lead.
Swiss captain Xherdan Shaqiri equalized following a mistake at the back by Spain but team-mate Remo Freuler was sent off nine minutes later.
They held on to force extra time and a shootout but missed three spot kicks which ultimately proved costly.
Spain will face Italy at Wembley on Tuesday in the semifinals.