London: Despite being regarded by many as the best team in the Euro 2020 tournament, Italy were hard pressed to beat a well-organised Austrian side, 2-1, to reach the quarterfinal stage after needing extra time. The first 90 minutes of the match was filled with missed chances at goal by both sides.
Austria began brightly as they seemed to continue in the same mode as they displayed in the win against Ukraine in their last group match. It was a little surprising to see Italy taking time to settle as it all seemed right in terms of their prospects coming into this match. They had thrashed Turkey and Switzerland both by three goals to nil and beaten Wales with a changed and perhaps, weakened side.
As the game progressed, Jorginho and Marco Verratti began to dominate the midfield with short passes and on the left flank Leonardo Spinazzola was fast, making several openings. After 20 minutes he created a fine chance for Italy with a cross to Nicola Barella whose shot from 15 yards was saved by the outstretched leg of goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann.
Bachmann followed that with another save when Verratti found Lorenzo Insigne who went past the Austrian defence but his curling shot was smothered by a diving Bachmann.
Austria too missed a chance soon after when Marko Arnautovic raced on to a ball well upfield and with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma not quite in position, he lashed his shot over the bar.
While Italy increased their attack as the first half progressed, Austria defence stayed firm. They had proved to be a side that would not be easily shaken after impressive wins over North Macedonia and Ukraine in the group matches to book a place for the first time in the knockout stages of a major tournament since the 1954 World Cup when they reached the semifinal.
Early in the second half Austria missed another chance after Gianni Di Lorenzo was booked for a foul on the edge of the box. David Alba took the free kick and shot inches over the bar. After 64 minutes it seemed Austria had taken the lead when Arnautovic’s header had found the net but VAR disallowed it on a close offside decision.
After a goalless 90 minutes, three goals came rapidly in extra time. Within five minutes substitute Federico Chiesa controlled a bouncing ball on his cheat and neatly beat Martin Hinteregger before hitting a firm shot across goal and into the corner. He had emulated his father Enrico who had scored in the Euro tournament for Italy twenty-five years ago.
Ten minutes later it was 2-0. Matteo Pessina got to a ball after a corner and drove a shot in across Bachmann. But Austria were not quite finished yet. After 114 minutes they finally managed to score through a header by Sasa Kalajdzic. The last six minutes were nerve-racking for Italy as they held on with Austria pressing hard for the equaliser.
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