WARSAW, POLAND (AP) - Italy beat England 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 0-0 after extra-time. The Italians will now play Germany. Here’s the best of the action. All times are Polish.
___
2332: Italy finished the game on 64 percent possession and 35 shots, with 20 on target. England had nine attempts, with only four on target. Italy made 818 passes this evening, compared to 320 from England. Anything other than an Italian victory would have been an injustice, despite the amount of chances they missed.
___
2328: Italy sets up a semifinal meeting with Germany. England is out of the tournament and while they will curse their continued bad luck from the penalty spot, Italy deserved to win. It was an even first half where both sides had decent chances but Italy came out and dominated the second half and they looked the only side who would score in extra time. England defended valiantly but after offering so little in attack, they find themselves going home at the quarterfinal stage once again.
___
2325: Yet again, England goes out of a major championship on penalties. Italy was first to miss one, but recovered and Young and Cole missed the crucial kicks for England. Pirlo scored a spectacularly cool penalty, dinking the ball over Hart to give Italy the momentum again before Diamanti sealed the victory.
___
2324: ITALY HAS BEATEN ENGLAND 4-2 ON PENALTIES.
___
2314: FULL-TIME: England 0, Italy 0. THE MATCH WILL BE DECIDED BY A PENALTY SHOOTOUT.
___
2309: Italy finally has the ball in the back of the net but Diamanti, who stoops to head it past Joe Hart, is ruled offside from a Maggio cross. Diamanti is distraught but it was a very good call from the linesman. Under five minutes left now.
___
2307: Diamanti curls a pullback into the penalty area from Balzaretti wide from eight yards out. England escapes once again, and another good Italy chance goes wide.
___
2306: PhillipsIan: It’s Monday morning in Kiev. You think it’s been a long night already? Wait for a shootout. With Buffon and Hart in goal, it could go long (via Twitter).
sdouglas80: Italy has lost five out of seven penalty shootouts at World Cups/Euros. England has lost 5/6. Could be a low-scoring shootout… (via Twitter)
___
2300: It is now Monday morning in Kiev, as the clock ticks past midnight. England v Italy creeps into a second day. Sunday could not bring a winner, but Monday definitely will.
___
2257: Half-time in extra-time: ENGLAND 0, ITALY 0.
___
2254: A teasing cross aimed at Nocerino from Diamanti cutting in from the right evades the intended target but hits the outside of the far post, with Hart scrambling across his line to get there. Italy close again, although this time unintentionally.
___
2250: Italy still has the upper hand but England’s back line and Joe Hart are proving tough to crack.
___
2243: Henderson comes on for England’s Parker.
___
2241: England gets the first 15-minute period of extra time underway. Nocerino tries his luck from 30 yards but the ball is way over the bar. Low key start from both sides.
___
2234: FULL TIME: ENGLAND 0-0 ITALY. There will now be 30 minutes of extra-time.
___
2233: Rooney tries a close-range overhead kick in front of goal but connects with his toe and the ball flies high over the bar.
___
2231: There will be three minutes of injury time.
___
2230: With seconds left of normal time, there’s a great last-ditch interception from Johnson to deny Nocerino.
___
2219: Andy Carroll wins a free kick for England 40 yards from goal and Gerrard curls the ball into the penalty area, aiming for Rooney. The ball is just too high for the forward though but, as he misses it, Gerrard’s delivery looks, for a moment, as though it could creep inside the near post itself. Buffon reaches it in time, though, and stops the danger.
___
2215: Steven Gerrard has gone down holding his left leg. The physio came on and the England captain receives treatment before walking off the pitch, despite a stretcher being brought on for him. Worrying signs for England fans, but Gerrard manages to come back on the field of play. That said, he’s looking tired out there.
___
2211: 68 minutes played here and it remains goalless. Italy is still enjoying most of the possession but the English are proving difficult to break down, with John Terry throwing himself at everything.
___
2205: Italy enjoying the majority of possession still and Pirlo is finding a bit of space in the midfield area. Hodgson will be hoping that the introduction of Walcott means the Arsenal player can provide an outlet on the right wing and help England hit on the counter attack.
___
2201: Double substitution for England with Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott coming on for Danny Welbeck and James Milner.
___
2155: Three chances fall to Italy. De Rossi tries his luck from 25 yards and gets closer to scoring than he did in the six yard area as Hart has to beat the ball away. It lands at the feet of Balotelli, who shoots straight at the body of Hart before the rebound is prodded over by Riccardo Montolivo who was only a few yards out. How are the Italians not ahead?
___
2151: De Rossi misses a great chance for Italy who should really be 1-0 ahead. Pirlo delivers a deep corner into the area that is punched away by Hart. The ball is headed back into the mix and drops perfectly to De Rossi who volleys wide, on the turn, from around six yards out. He was under no pressure from the England defense but the chance goes begging when the midfielder had the goal at his mercy.
___
2146: The second half is underway and there are no changes on either side.
___
2136: Oddly, Wayne Rooney and Andrea Pirlo swapped shirts as the players went off for halftime, despite having at least another 45 minutes to play. If the scores are still level then, there will be 30 minutes of extra time to determine a winner. If neither side is able to book a spot in the semifinal after that, there will be a penalty shootout.
___
2133: Italy edged it but most of the chances have fallen to Balotelli, who is yet to bring a meaningful save out of Joe Hart.
___
2130: HALF-TIME: England 0, Italy 0.
___
2128: Great moment from Pirlo, who shows just why he is so highly regarded as he floats a pass into Cassano at the back post. Cassano heads the ball back into the path of Balotelli in the center, but Lescott gets to it first and, somehow, from point blank range, pokes the ball over the bar for a corner, which England clears.
___
2125: Fantastic play by Cassano, receiving the ball from Balotelli 25 yards out with his back to goal, before instantly turning and unleashing a stinging right-footed drive that Hart palms up into the air before pouncing upon the rebound.
___
2121: England goes straight up the other end, Rooney and Welbeck linking up with a neat one-two before Welbeck sidefoots the ball over the bar from the edge of the penalty area. Good, entertaining game so far.
___
2119: Good chance for Balotelli who gets inbetween Johnson and Terry as Marchisio clips a looping ball into his path. The Italian forward hits a tame effort on the half volley straight at Hart, his Manchester City teammate in the England goal. He had more time than he realized and was disgusted with himself as Hart made a simple stop.
___
2114: Johnson has slipped over twice now when quickly changing direction and sprinting after the ball. That decision to water the pitch 15 minutes before kick off seems to be hindering the England defender and perhaps a change of footwear could be in order. Mind you, nobody else seems to be suffering in the same way.
___
2110: Wayne Rooney has started to play a bit deeper in the last five minutes or so. Andrea Pirlo, the midfield dangerman who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, has yet to see much of the ball and the Italians will have to bring him into the game more if they want to gain a greater control of the play.
___
2106: The English are definitely enjoying the better of the early proceedings and look threatening going forward. Both Roy Hodgson and Cesare Prandelli have spent time in their technical areas barking out instructions to the their players but you would expect it is Hodgson who is the happier with the start to the game.
___
2100: Another great chance for England. Johnson swings an inviting cross into the penalty area from the right and Rooney bends his run to meet the delivery, but he flicks his diving header well over the bar under pressure from a defender.
___
2058: England seems to be encouraged by that chance from Johnson, with Wayne Rooney breaking away down the left to force a corner. The Italians clear the imminent pressure but the ball is crossed back into the center and, after an unorthodox punch away from Buffon, Parker drills the ball wide from outside the penalty area.
___
2052: And now it’s England’s turn to go close. England works the ball down the right and Milner delivers a low cross into the penalty area and after a couple of deflections, it lands between the feet of Johnson. The right back eventually gets his shot away and it seems destined for the back of the net from close range but Buffon makes a splendid save, clawing the ball up in the air and catching the rebound.
___
2050: So close! De Rossi sends a left-footed shot on the bounce crashing off the post. The ball is pulled back to the midfield man who, with the outside of his boot, sends a shot swerving onto the face of the left post from 25 yards, with an outstretched Hart in the England goal comprehensively beaten. Early letoff for Roy Hodgson’s side.
___
2045: And the match gets underway, with Italy, in blue, kicking off.
___
2042: A rousing rendition of the Italian national anthem by Buffon, roaring out the lyrics with his eyes closed.
___
2040: Buffon and Gerrard lead their teams out.
___
2035: gdunbarap: Kiev pitch being watered 15 mins before kickoff. Italy happy to agree to it vs England, but not Spain 2 weeks ago. (via Twitter.)
___
2030: For England, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Young, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all a yellow card away from missing a potential semifinal clash against Germany. For Italy, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is joined on the list of bookings by Fedricio Balzaretti, Mario Balotelli, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo and Leonardo Bonucci. ___
2020: So Mario Balotelli starts for Italy against three of his Manchester City teammates in the England side: Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott and James Milner. England are unchanged from the side that beat Ukraine 1-0 in the last Group D match. That means Wayne Rooney partners Danny Welbeck in attack, with Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott starting on the substitutes’ bench.
___
1950: Italy forward Mario Balotelli returns to the starting lineup to face an unchanged England team. Balotelli is selected ahead of Antonio Di Natale. Defender Giorgio Chiellini injured his left hamstring against the Irish and his Juventus teammate Leonardo Bonucci continues to fill in. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has opted for Riccardo Montolivo in midfield over Thiago Motta.
___
1945: Here are the lineups:
England: Joe Hart, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, James Milner, Scott Parker, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele De Rossi, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano.
___
1940: AP’s Rob Harris, in Kiev: “For the first time at Euro 2012, England fans are making their presence felt in Kiev ahead of the quarterfinal against Italy. Logistical problems getting to the outer reaches of eastern Europe seem to have been partly overcome. The chorus of “We are the Champions” seems a tad premature though.”
___
1835: Defending champion Spain is hoping the extra two days rest that Portugal has before the semifinal encounter on Wednesday will not prove to be of advantage when they compete for a place in the final in Donetsk.
___
1815: simonhaydon: Pedro Proenca was nursing broken teeth after being headbutted by a fan. Ten months later, he refs Italy vs England tonight (via Twitter.)
___
1500: Former Portugal great Eusebio is in stable condition after undergoing tests on his heart. The 70-year-old Eusebio was admitted to hospital in Poznan late Saturday after feeling ill and suffering what was initially suspected to be a heart attack, hospital spokesman Stanislaw Rusek said. Doctors performed a coronary catheterization, which determined that Eusebio had not had a heart attack but merely complications from poor health. “I had the chance to speak to him this morning and asked him whether his heart hurt at all,” Rusek told The Associated Press. “He smiled and said, ’not at all,’ and that shows that this morning he was in good form.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.