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Italy have joined Denmark in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Austria after extra time in London.
Italy came into the game off an excellent run in the group stages, finishing atop the Group A summit. They won all their group-stage games, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Austria, meanwhile, finished three points behind Group-C winners Netherlands, who won all their three games.
However, in an end-to-end affair at the Wembley Stadium, both teams largely cancelled each other out as the game remained goalless till the end of regulation time.
Ciro Immobile came close to scoring for Italy but saw his long-range shot crash against the post. Meanwhile, Austria had a goal ruled out for offside in the 67th minute, after Marko Arnautovic beat Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma with a neat header.
In extra time, though, Italy came to life, grabbing the opening goal in the 95th minute, thanks to a magnificent piece of play from Juventus man Federico Chiesa.
The substitute controlled Spinazzola’s lofted pass before easing past the on-rushing Stefan Lainer with a neat touch and drilling his left-footed shot past Daniel Bachmann and into the net.
Italy quickly doubled their lead through another substitute Mateo Pessina, who calmly drove his thumping strike into the bottom corner from inside the Austrian box.
Austria managed to pull one back through Sasa Kalajdzic's 114th-minute strike, but it was too little too late, as Italy held on to book their place in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
On that note, let's have a look at the Italy player ratings in the game.
Italy Player Ratings:
Gianluigi Donnarumma 5/10
Donnarumma was largely undisturbed by the Austrians, who were pegged back into their half of the pitch. He was mostly accurate with his distribution when in possession and made a brilliant save in extra time.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo 6/10
The full-back had a mixed outing for Italy. He stood his ground against David Alaba, who was constantly overlapping and making marauding runs into the Italy penalty area to wreak havoc. However, Di Lorenzo failed to have the same impact in attack as he struggled down the right wing with Berardi.
Leonardo Bonucci 6/10
The veteran defender led Italy in this game and was a composed and assured presence in defence. He did well to limit the threat of Marko Arnautovic.
Francesco Acerbi 6.5/10
The centre-back did well to help Italy play out from the back, as he often glided deep into the Austrian half to provide an extra man for his attackers. He assisted Italy’s second goal of the game after brilliantly holding the ball up to set up Pessina.
Leonardo Spinazzola 7/10
Italy’s best performer on the night. Spinazzola was a constant threat to the Austrian right-back. He often slalomed through tackles before getting to the by-line to whip in dangerous crosses. He ended the game with one assist after setting up Juventus' Federico Chiesa with a pin-point lofted pass.
Nicolo Barella 5.5/10
The Inter Milan man failed to hit his stride in the game, as he was often targeted by the tireless Austrian midfielders. However, he called up Bachmann for the first significant save of the night after drilling a low volley from inside the penalty area. Barella was replaced in the second half by Pessina, though.
Jorginho 6.5/10
A midfield general for Italy. Jorginho was a metronomic figure at the centre of the park, as he dictated the pace and flow of the game for Roberto Mancini’s men. The Chelsea man was once again defensively solid, finishing the game with four interceptions, two tackles and one clearance.
Marco Verratti 6/10
The Paris Saint-Germain man was given the nod over Locatelli. Veratti was on deck to snuff out any danger and prevent Austria from settling in midfield. However, Verratti gradually fizzled out of the game and was replaced by Locatteli as Italy opted for fresh legs at the centre of the park.
Domenico Berardi 5.5/10
He failed to make a telling impact down the right flank for Italy, as he was easily beaten by veteran David Alaba. He often tried drifting infield to have a go at goal but failed to find the target in any of his attempts. Berardi was replaced by Federico Chiesa in the second half.
Ciro Immobile 6/10
Immobile came close to opening the scoring in the first half when he sent his long-range shot crashing into the post. He posed no major threat afterwards and struggled to link up well with his frontmen. He was replaced by Andrea Belotti with seven minutes remaining in regular time.
Lorenzo Insigne 6/10
Insigne had a decent outing in attack for Italy. While he tried to work a shooting position for his trademark curlers, he failed to find the target on several occasions. He came close to getting on the scoresheet in extra time, but his free-kick was tipped wide by Austrian goalkeeper Bachmann.
Player ratings of Italy substitutes:
Manuel Locatelli 6/10
He was sent on by Roberto Mancini to ease the pressure following Austria’s relentless pressing in midfield. Locatelli linked up well with his teammates and played his part in helping Italy see out the win.
Matteo Pessina 7.5/10
The Atalanta man made an immediate impact after coming on for Nicolo Barella. He doubled Italy’s lead in extra-time with a thumping strike into the bottom right corner after a superb hold-up play from Acerbi.
Federico Chiesa 7.5/10
The Juventus man repaid Mancini’s faith in him by coming off the bench to grab a breakthrough strike for Italy in extra-time. After calmly controlling Spinazzola’s lofted pass, he eased past the onrushing Lainer with a neat touch before drilling a venomous left-footed shot past Bachmann and into the net.
Andrea Belloti 6/10
The Torino man came on for Immobile in the 83rd minute and played his part in attack to help Italy see out the win.
