If England needed any more motivation for their quarter-final against Italy, the knowledge that a victory would set up a semi-final with arch-rivals Germany certainly would.

Italy came close to taking the lead early on when Daniele De Rossi hit a curling volley from outside the penalty box, which had goalkeeper Joe Hart beaten. Fortunately for England, the shot cannoned back off the post before being cleared from the danger zone.

Another golden opportunity presented itself just a minute later; this time it was England’s turn to come close, with a low cross falling to Glen Johnson in the penalty area. The England defenders’ shot was saved expertly by Gianluigi Buffon to keep the scores level.

Although the game quieted down from its frenetic opening minutes, both teams were still playing a brand of attacking football unexpected by most coming into the game. Many pundits had predicted a cagey, defensively dominated affair between the two teams, but with twenty minutes played, the game seemed anything but that.

With half an hour gone the Italians seemed to be gaining the upper hand, controlling the pace of the game and shading the possession battle. This spell of dominance presented two clear chances for controversial striker Mario Balotelli, but the Italian was denied firstly by a last ditch John Terry tackle and secondly by a good low save from Hart.

Despite their dominance, and further chances for both Balotelli and Antonio Cassano, Italy was unable to take a lead before the interval, although there were no doubts that Cesare Prandelli was the happier of the two managers as both teams left the field for half-time.

If De Rossi was cursing his luck following his shot which hit the post in the first half, his self-berating was a little early. In the second half, after England cleared their lines from a corner, the ball was knocked back into the penalty area and reached De Rossi who scuffed his shot when one on one with Hart.

Things went from bad to worse for England as Italy enjoyed a succession of chances from Balotelli and Ricardo Montolivo. They seemed to beat England’s offside trap time after time, only to be denied by a combination of poor finishing and the goalkeeping heroics of Hart.

The double substitution of Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott on for Danny Welbeck and James Milner respectively seemed to breathe some life into England, who began to show signs of the attacking intent with which they started the game. England nearly capitalized on this pressure when Steven Gerrard’s free kick was agonizingly close to Wayne Rooney’s attempted header, when any kind of contact would likely have taken the ball beyond the reaches of Buffon.

An attempted overhead kick from Rooney almost gave England their fairytale ending, but the Manchester United striker could not keep his shot down, sending the game into extra time.

The first half of extra time from England was much more encouraging than much of their play in the opening 90 minutes; it still failed to yield a break in the deadlock for either side, setting up a very tense final 15 minutes.

The second half played out in similar fashion and brought the conclusion to the game that all England fans were dreading, the penalty shootout.

Opening penalties were slotted home by Balotelli and Gerrard respectively, only for England to then gain the advantage after Rooney scored, following a miss from Montolivo. England’s advantage was short lived however as Ashley Young’s missed penalty – after Pirlo’s successful spot kick – leveled the scores at 2-2. Another miss from England, this time from Ashley Cole, proved to be England’s final undoing. Alessandro Diamanti stepped up to convert and sent Italy through to face the Germans in the semi-finals.

Image Courtesy of  Julian Finney

The article Euro 2012: England Fall To Penalty Drama Once Again appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Tournament favorite and reigning World Champions, Spain, opened their Euro 2012 campaign against Italy in a highly anticipated match at the PGE arena in Gdansk, Poland.

Some eyebrows were raised over Spain’s decision to not select a traditional striker in their lineup, playing in a formation very similar to that of prestigious club side Barcelona. With five of their starting players also plying their trade for Barcelona, Spain looked comfortable early on in the unorthodox formation and controlled the tempo of the game well.

Italy’s formation was also under scrutiny, with Italian manager Cesare Prandelli opting to use midfielder Daniele De Rossi in the rarely used sweeper position. The decision seemed to pay off early in the game as, despite Spain’s domination of possession, the Italian defense held strong against several Spanish attacks.

The first real chance of the game fell to the Italians when Antonio Cassano timed his run perfectly to collect the ball and advance into the Spanish penalty area. Although his low shot beat the diving Iker Casillas, it also drifted just wide of the post. Spain hit back with a chance of their own. After their corner was cleared by the Italian defense, the ball fell to Andres Iniesta outside of the penalty area and the midfielder hit a fierce shot towards the bottom corner of the goal, forcing Gianluigi Buffon into a good save.

As the first half went on, Italy seemed to grow into the game, threatening the Spanish goal on several occasions. Most notable was a stinging volley from Claudio Marchisio that Casillas did well to hold on to. Spain, meanwhile, seemed unable to break down the Italian defense with their Barcelona-esque style of play. The presence of Barcelona players Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas in the midfield was seemingly not enough to make up for the lack of a player of the caliber of Lionel Messi.

Spanish manager Vincente del Bosque would not have been pleased with the performance from his side at the half, with the Spaniards lucky to still be drawing 0-0 after Emanuele Giacherinni found Thiago Motta unmarked just eight yards out with a cross. His header was fired straight at Casillas and was not a problem for the Spanish goalkeeper.

Surprisingly, Spain did not bring on any of the three strikers on their bench during the interval, but the World Champions looked more threatening after the break with Fabreas testing Buffon early on. Minutes later, Iniesta seemed destined to score after breaking into the box, only for Buffon to get his fingertips to the ball and tip it wide for a corner.

With the game approaching the hour mark, controversial striker Mario Balotelli had the best opportunity to break the deadlock in the game thus far. Beating Sergio Ramos and progressing into the area unchallenged, he inexplicably held on to the ball for too long and allowed the recovering Ramos to get back and steal the ball from the Italian.

The lead was finally taken by Italy in the minute 60. Andrea Pirlo played a superb through ball for Antonio Di Natale, who was left one on one with Casillas and expertly curled his shot around the outstretched hands of the Spanish number one.

Clearly spurred on by the Italian goal, Spain struck back immediately, leveling the scores just two minutes later. Fabreas picked up a neat pass into the box from David Silva and smashed the ball beyond the reaches of Buffon, ensuring an exciting final 25 minutes.

The two goals certainly livened up the game, with both Fernando Torres and Sebastian Giovinco wasting good chances to give their sides the lead in the aftermath. Ultimately, neither side could find that bit extra to give themselves the three points.

Although Spain was favored going into the match, both sides will likely be content with the draw. Their remaining games, the Republic of Ireland and Croatia will likely pose less of a challenge than their opponents today. Spain and del Bosque will have to analyze whether their decision to play without a traditional striker was the right one before the next match, whilst Prandelli and Italy will be thrilled they defied expectations in avoiding defeat to the Spanish. He will want to see more of the same from his team in training if they are to continue in this form.

Image Courtesy of  Michael Steele

The article Spain Fail To Beat Spirited Italians In Group C appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.