Italy vs Spain Euro 2020 reaction: 5 big talking points from the Azzurri's penalty shoot-out win

Federico Chiesa
(Image credit: PA Images)

Italy have reached the final of Euro 2020 after a 1-1 draw was followed by a penalty shoot-out win over Spain.

FourFourTwo were at Wembley to witness the action - here are our five big talking points from the match.

Donnarumma the hero

Gianluigi Donnarumma has been hailed as Italy's next great goalkeeper for some time now - tonight, he had his first huge moment with the Azzurri.

It was the 22-year-old whose save denied Alvaro Morata in the penalty shoot-out to put Italy into the final of Euro 2020.

The goalkeeper has had a strong tournament and saved well from Dani Olmo early in the game too.

It was hard not to feel for Morata though - the script seemed written for him to miss. He'd been dropped for this game but seemingly redeemed himself by coming on to net the equaliser.

The former Chelsea man already missed a penalty earlier in this tournament though, and you just didn't fancy him to score.

Chiesa nets in England (again)

Another game at Wembley, another goal from Federico Chiesa.

The Juventus star and dad Enrico became the first father and son to both score at the Euros, when Federico broke the deadlock for Italy against Austria at Wembley in the last 16.

Coincidentally, Enrico's Euros strike had also come in England - at Anfield against the Czech Republic during Euro 96. That tournament ended badly for the Azzurri - they still lost that game to the Czechs, and went out in the group stage. 

Things have been rather better for Federico - both of his goals have come in famous victories.

Pedri will dominate decade

Pedri broke Wayne Rooney's record as the youngest player to start a knockout game at the Euros when he appeared against Croatia last week - sadly he also quickly became the youngest player to score a comedy own goal after starting a knockout game at the Euros, too.

That own goal was much to do with Unai Simon's poor control though, and the Barcelona starlet looked highly impressive in this game and at this tournament as a whole, using possession wisely in the way that so many recent Spanish greats have done.

Pedri is still only 18 - he wasn't quite able to help Spain to the final, but it looks pretty certain that he'll be one of the best midfielders in the world over the next decade.

Return of the tiny car

Euro 2020 has produced many stars, and the little tiny car is undoubtedly one of them.

The car was used to carry the matchball to the centre circle in the opening game of the tournament, but then suspiciously disappeared. Had it been stolen by some miniature joyriders or Lorenzo Insigne, or perhaps it was just in for an MOT?

Its three-week absence remains a mystery, but it was well and truly back at Wembley - zooming out on to the pitch before kick-off to deliver a special silver ball for this semi final. Insigne was no doubt eyeing it up again.

Next up for Italy: England or Denmark?

Early in extra time, the many Italians and Spanish in the stadium were briefly outsung - by the local English fans breaking into a rendition of Three Lions.

Tomorrow we'll find out whether England can beat Denmark and make it to the final themselves - if they do, this game suggested that Italy won't be easy opposition, but nor will they be unbeatable.

In truth, Spain had the better of much of this game, having 70 per cent of the possession and delivering their best performance of the Euros.

Italy's two weakest displays at this tournament have come at Wembley - they'll need to put that right in the final, but they've also shown during Euro 2020 that they have enough quality to lift the trophy if they perform.

Chris Flanagan
Senior Staff Writer

Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from 20 countries, in places as varied as Jerusalem and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, Euro 2020 and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.