It’s coming ‘to Rome’! Italy Beats Spain at EURO 2020

Italy’s glorious Euro streak leads them to final.

The crowds have erupted all over Italy as Azzurri tops Spain on penalty kicks following tonight’s EURO 2020 semi-finals! It was not so long ago that total despair filled the air of Italy’s streets and the hearts of their beloved fans. 2018 saw ‘Gli Azzurri’ lose a 2 leg fixture to Sweden and failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1930. For many, it was a sign that the golden generation of Italian football was at an end with greats such as Pirlo, Baggio and Del Piero seeming like a lifetime ago.

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However, the two time Serie A winning world class midfielder turned manager, Roberto Mancini, had other ideas.

Italy looked like a force to be reckoned with right from the first game. With 3 wins out of 3 matches and no goals conceded in the group stages: they very quickly turned from a dark horse to a squad more and more likely to get to the final stages of the competition, and that is exactly what they did.

2-1 wins over both Austria and a strong Belgian side saw Italy head straight for the Semi Final against rivals, Spain.

One of the most enthralling games in the competition so far.

Tonights game was one of the most enthralling games in the competition so far. Both teams had completely unique styles and to watch the skill from both sets of players was a pleasure. Chiesa opened the scoring with a second half, beautifully taken shot leaving Spain trailing but much like their famous bullfighting, Spain saw red and would not be beaten so easily.

It was with only 10 minutes to go that Chelsea reject, Alvaro Morata, saved the day and made it even before the final whistle.

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An uninteresting 30 minutes of extra time saw the game still at a deadlock leaving penalties as the only way to separate the two. Misses from both sides saw it at a tense 2-2. However, Morata couldn’t keep his shooting boots on and a miss left the entire game for Jorginho to win. The Champions League winner ,with his famous penalty kick, slotted it home for Gli Azzurri to face either England or Denmark on Sunday at the EURO 2020 final.

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Maximillian Payne

Contributing Editor

I am a 20 year old student currently studying Journalism at the University of Portsmouth. My life goal and aim is that after I finish my degree, I will move abroad permanently to Italy, in particular Rome, and focus on travel journalism and sports journalism which are my two main passions. It is a very scary thing to think about moving abroad alone at a very young age but my deep passion and desire to live in Italy keeps me so motivated to execute my plans and live my very own ‘Dolce Vita’. Most of my hobbies have some link to Italy, none more so than my love for football as I am a very passionate supporter of club, S.S Lazio. In England, I am a season ticket holder at Chelsea where me and my family have a tradition of eating at the best Italian restaurant on the Kings Road in Chelsea called ‘Frantoio’. As well as this, I also am very intrigued and interested in the mafia and in particular the ‘Cosa Nostra’. I have many books on the detailing and history of it as well as every film. Unlike most people my age, my music taste is eclectic. I have a huge range of vinyl records as my favourite artists are Elvis, Bob Dylan, Paul Weller and people from those eras. Of course, I do like modern music too but not as much as the 70’s and 80’s! At this moment in time, I am trying to gain as much experience at writing as possible as well as making as many contacts in Italy before I move so I can have the best possible chance of it being a success.