Italy continued its impressive journey in the European Football Championship by reaching the semifinals after knocking out Belgium, the world number one and third place finisher in the 2018 World Cup, with a 2-1 victory on Friday at the Allianz Arena in Munich during the quarterfinals. Nicolo Barella (31) and Lorenzo Insigne (44) scored Italy's goals, while Romelu Lukaku (45+2 from a penalty) scored for Belgium.
Italy will face Spain in the semifinals at Wembley Stadium next Tuesday, as Spain halted Switzerland's run by winning 3-1 on penalties (after a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time). This marks the fifth time Italy has reached the semifinals, following their title win in 1968 and runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2012, as well as a fourth place in 1980 when they qualified directly to this stage, and in 1988. This will be Italy's tenth appearance in the tournament's history and the seventh consecutive time since missing the 1992 edition.
Italy's victory is their fifth in a row in the tournament, enhancing their record for the number of matches without defeat, which now stands at 32 matches (27 wins and 5 draws), including 13 consecutive wins. Italy's last defeat came against Portugal, losing 0-1 in the Nations League on September 10, 2018.
Italy has confirmed its dominance over Belgium in their historical encounters, which total 23 matches, with Italy winning 15 times compared to four defeats and four draws. On the other hand, Belgium, third in the 2018 World Cup, has failed to reach the semifinals for the second consecutive time after exiting in the quarterfinals in 2016, and this is their sixth attempt in history, having reached the semifinals only three times, last achieving this milestone in 1980 when they lost the final to West Germany 1-2; they also placed third in 1972 by losing to Hungary with the same score.
Italy had the advantage and possession in the first half but was unable to threaten Belgium's keeper Thibaut Courtois. Belgium relied on counter-attacks and came close to scoring several times, thanks to Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma who made crucial saves against attempts from De Bruyne and Lukaku. Italy capitalized on a defensive error by the Red Devils to open the scoring and then doubled their lead with a stunning goal from Napoli's Insigne, before Lukaku narrowed the gap in stoppage time of the first half from a penalty kick. Belgium attempted to recover in the second half, but to no avail.
