Goalless England and Italy go to penalties

24 June 2012 22:17

England and Italy went to penalties on Sunday after their quarter-final in Kiev failed to produce a goal after 120 minutes as they battled for the right to face Germany.

Italy had a goal disallowed late on in extra-time when Antonio Nocerino saw his close-range header chalked off for offside.

England did have their moments and Italy keeper Gigi Buffon made a fine early stop from Glen Johnson.

Mario Balotelli then fired a close range effort too close to Joe Hart before Wayne Rooney astutely found Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck, who leaned into his effort and fired over.

After the restart England had a let off as Hart saved from De Rossi and Balotelli before Riccardo Montolivo put the rebound over from point blank range.

England threw on Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott for Welbeck and James Milner on the hour in an attempt to regain the initiative in the face of increasing Italian pressure but neither side could find a way through.

There were few chances in the first-half of extra-time with Alessandro Diamanti going closest with a cross hitting the post.

Source: AFP