UEFA Euro 2012 final

Spain were drawn in Group C alongside Italy, Croatia, and Republic of Ireland, opening against Italy on 10 June 2012. Italy took the lead in the 61st minute through striker Antonio Di Natale, who had come on for Mario Balotelli.[13] Three minutes later, Spain equalised when midfielder Andrés Iniesta assisted Cesc Fàbregas, who slotted the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.[13] In their next match on 14 June against Republic of Ireland, striker Fernando Torres opened the scoring early in the fourth minute, retaining the ball after Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne's unsuccessful tackle, before scoring from ten yards past defenceless goalkeeper Shay Given.[14] In the 49th minute, after Given had blocked an Iniesta shot, David Silva collected the rebound and extended the Spanish lead, after nutmegging three defenders.[14] With 20 minutes remaining, Torres scored his second goal, taking a pass from Silva and chipping the ball over Given.[14] Fabregas scored the final goal after receiving a Silva corner and shooting from a difficult angle.[14] Their third and final group stage match against Croatia on 18 June, proved to be more difficult, and Croatia had several goalscoring chances, notably from Ivan Strinić and Ivan Perišić, which Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas had no problems dealing with.[15] The match looked to be heading for a draw, until the 88th minute, when substitute Jesús Navas struck the winning goal, from an Iniesta assist.[15]

In the quarter-finals, on 23 June 2012, Spain took on France. Spain opened the goalscoring with defender Jordi Alba running to the touchline under pressure and sending a pinpoint cross to unmarked midfielder Xabi Alonso, who drove a powerful header past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.[16] Spain completed their win late in the second half with Alonso's penalty kick after France defender Anthony Réveillère brought down Pedro inside the penalty area.[16] In the semi-finals on 27 June, Spain faced Portugal in a competitive match. Portugal pressured the Spanish "tiki-taka" possession game high up the pitch, and created several goalscoring chances.[17] Spain managed to hold on, which required the match to go into extra time.[17] Spain began to take control of the match with the introduction of Pedro and Fabregas, but failed to score over both halves, leading to a penalty shoot-out.[17] Alonso, who had previously taken a penalty kick against France, had his spot kick saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício.[17] Portugal looked to take the advantage, with midfielder João Moutinho as the next penalty taker, but his strike was kept out with a diving save from Casillas.[17] Iniesta took his penalty with precision before Portuguese defender Pepe struck his kick just past Casillas's fingertips.[17] Defender Gerard Piqué calmly scored in the same corner of the goal as Pepe.[17] Another defender, Bruno Alves, stepped up to take the third penalty for Portugal, but midfielder Nani encouraged Alves to let him take the penalty, which Nani struck high in the left corner of the goal after sending Casillas the wrong way.[17] The fourth Spanish penalty was taken by defender Sergio Ramos, who chipped the ball past Rui Patrício, in the style of former Czech footballer Antonín Panenka.[17] Portugal's fourth penalty was taken by defender Bruno Alves, who struck the crossbar with a rising shot.[17] Spain's final penalty taker was Fàbregas, who scored Spain's fifth goal, as the ball went in via the left post.[17] Spain emerged victorious, and headed to the UEFA European Championship final for the fourth time.[17]

As well as Spain, Italy were placed in Group C in the group stage. Their opening match was against Spain on 10 June 2012 which ended in a 1–1 draw.[13] Di Natale gave Italy the lead on the hour mark but Spain equalised through Fàbregas four minutes later.[13] Italy's next fixture was against Croatia on 14 June. Italy were dominant in the first half of the match, and had several chances to score.[18] A foul from Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitić on Balotelli resulted in a free kick for Italy.[18] Andrea Pirlo stepped up, and struck the free kick,[18] which went past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, inside the left side of the goal.[18] In the 72nd minute, Croatia striker Mario Mandžukić headed in an equalising goal, after an assist from Strinić.[18][19] Their third and final group match against the Republic of Ireland was on 18 June. Striker Antonio Cassano struck the first goal, from a Pirlo corner, which Republic of Ireland defender Damien Duff failed to clear.[20] Near the end of the match, centre midfielder Keith Andrews was booked for the second time, after committing a foul on Pirlo, resulting in a sending off by Turkey referee Cüneyt Çakır.[20] As the match headed its way into the 90 minutes, in injury time, Balotelli struck a volley past Given, assisted by attacking midfielder Alessandro Diamanti.[20]

In the quarter-finals, Italy faced England. Both sides were dominant and had possession in the first half. Italy players, such as midfielders Riccardo Montolivo, Pirlo, Balotelli, and Cassano had chances to score, but failed to do so.[21] England players also rounded off chances, through strikers Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, midfielders Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, and defenders Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole.[21] In the second half, Italy proved to be the more dominant, but neither managed to produce a goal, and the match was taken into extra time.[21] Diamanti had the best chance to score in the first half, the ball hitting the outside of the left post.[21] Both sides still failed to score and the match headed into a penalty shoot-out.[21] Balotelli was the first penalty taker for Italy and he struck the penalty kick into the left corner, past England goalkeeper and Manchester City club teammate Joe Hart.[21] Gerrard did not hesitate, and scored into the same left corner.[21] Montolivo was the second player for Italy to take a penalty kick. He attempted to strike the ball into the same corner, but his shot went wide.[21] He was followed by Rooney, who scored to put England ahead. Pirlo was the next Italian penalty taker and scored with a Panenka-style penalty.[21] Midfielder Ashley Young stepped up to take England's third penalty, but hit the crossbar.[21] Italy now had the advantage, as Antonio Nocerino successfully scored the fourth penalty.[21] The pressure was now on England, and it proved to be decisive for Italy,[21] as defender Cole stepped up to take the fourth penalty for England, which Buffon saved.[21] In the semi-finals, Italy faced Germany. Italy dominated possession early, and after receiving the ball from Cassano, Balotelli opening the goalscoring in the 20th minute of the first half in the left corner inside the goal, heading past German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.[22] Sixteen minutes later Balotelli struck again, this time striking into the top right corner on a one-on-one with Neuer, assisted by a Montolivo lob over the German defence.[22] In the second half, Germany improved, and were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute after Federico Balzaretti was penalised for handball.[22] Germany midfielder Mesut Özil struck the penalty kick into the right corner.[22][23] Despite this, Italy held on to their lead, securing victory and progression to the final.[24]

Iniesta takes a shot on Gianluigi Buffon's goal

Spain kicked off the match at 9:45 pm local time (6:45 pm UTC), playing in a red and dark blue kit, while Italy wore blue shirts and white shorts.[40][41] Italy had the game's first attack on 2 minutes, Cassano running down the left of the pitch to the corner of the penalty area before losing the ball, which flew towards the centre of the pitch. Pirlo then had a shot from distance, but it went high and wide. On 4 minutes, Spain went forward for the first time, Silva advancing down the right before passing towards Alonso on the edge of Italy's penalty area. Italy's defence got the ball back to their goalkeeper, and it was then cleared by Chiellini. A minute later, Chiellini hit a long ball towards the Italian penalty area towards Balotelli, but Ramos reached it first with a header and was able to clear. Balotelli was knocked over during the challenge, but there was no foul given.[40] Spain then began to control the match, with lengthy periods of possession and several chances to score, including a header by Ramos that went over the crossbar,[40] and a shot by Xavi from a Fàbregas pass, which also went over.[42]

Spain took the lead in the 14th minute, when Iniesta played a through-ball to Fàbregas, who drove past Chiellini to the by-line before pulling back a cross for David Silva to head into the net from six yards.[42] Chiellini was hampered by a thigh injury he had picked up in the earlier rounds and on 20 minutes he sliced a clearance, allowing Alonso to launch an attack down the right. Bonucci and then Pirlo cleared the danger, after which Chiellini was replaced by Balzaretti.[40][42] Italy responded to going behind with several attacks, first through Balzaretti, whose cross from the left was intercepted just before Balotelli could head it goalwards. Cassano then had two shots which were saved by Casillas on 29 and 33 minutes. On 38 minutes, Balotelli had another chance, firing a shot towards the top corner of the goal following a one-two with Mantolivo; it went over the top. Spain then doubled their lead four minutes before half-time when, after a period of passing around their defence, Casillas sent a long ball which was eventually picked up by Xavi. He then passed to Alba, who capped a long forward run with a left-footed finish past Buffon.[40]

Di Natale came on for Cassano at half-time and went close to scoring with his first touch one minute into the second half, heading over the crossbar after a cross from Abate. This was followed a minute later by a chance for Spain, when Fàbregas fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area which went narrowly wide of the goal. Fàbregas then crossed into the penalty area after beating Balzaretti on the right-hand side, leading to a goal-mouth scramble which was eventually cleared by Italy. On 49 minutes, the ball struck Bonucci's hand and Spain appealed for a penalty, but the referee deemed it unintentional.[40][43] Di Natale then had a second effort, striking a shot from 12 yards (11 m) and forcing a save from the onrushing Casillas.[42] Italy's final substitution saw Thiago Motta replace Riccardo Montolivo.[42] In the 58th minute, Pirlo sent a free kick into the penalty area which was cleared by Casillas with his palms, and then Balotelli hit a shot which went over the crossbar.[40] Motta then suffered a hamstring injury only four minutes after coming on; with all of their substitutes used, Italy had to play the last 30 minutes of the match a man down.[42]

Torres replaced Fàbregas with 15 minutes left to play, and scored in the 84th minute – assisted by Xavi – to become the first man to score in two European Championship finals.[44] Torres then turned provider four minutes later, cutting the ball back with the outside of his boot for fellow substitute and Chelsea forward Juan Mata to sweep into an empty net for a final score of 4–0.[42]

• O'Brien, Jonathan (2021). Euro Summits: The Story of the UEFA European Championship. Worthing: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78531-849-8.