Final, 1-1 (Germany wins penalty-kick shootout 6-5): Germany is moving on to the Euro 2016 semifinals after downing Italy in the joint-longest shootout in European Championship history.
The win wasn’t Germany’s most artistic, but it was perhaps its most beautiful, having finally defeated Italy in a competitive game. Germany advances to the semifinals, again, on the strength of its historical prowess in the lottery that is the penalty-kick shootuout.
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Penalty kicks: Buffon chooses the right direction, but Hector scores anyway.
Hector can win it for Germany.
Neuer saves Darmian’s penalty kick.
Darmian is Italy’s ninth shooter.
Boateng scores. It’s 5-5 after eight rounds.
Boateng must score to keep Germany in Euro 2016.
De Sciglio hits the crossbar, but it goes in.
De Sciglio is Italy’s eighth shooter.
Kimmich confidently converts.
Kimmich is Germany’s next taker.
Parolo scores.
Parolo steps up for Italy.
Hummels scores.
It’s Hummels’ turn.
Giaccherini scores.
Giaccherini is Italy’s next shooter.
The shootout now enters sudden death.
Schweinsteiger shoots over the goal.
Schweinsteiger can put Germany into the last four.
Neuer makes a fantastic save on Bonucci’s penalty.
Bonucci returns to the penalty spot.
Draxler scores. It’s 2-2 after four rounds.
Draxler is Germany’s next shooter.
Pelle poorly rolls his shot wide.
Pelle steps up for Italy.
Ozil hits the post.
Ozil’s up next for Germany.
Barzagli scores.
Barzagli’s up next for Italy.
Buffon saves Muller’s side-footed effort. Muller’s Euro 2016 nightmare continues.
Muller steps up for Germany.
Germany leads 1-0 after two rounds.
Zaza misses after a ridiculous run-up to the ball.
Zaza will shoot Italy’s second penalty kick.
Kroos scores.
Kroos will take Germany’s first spot-kick.
Insigne scores.
Insigne will shoot first for Italy.
End of extra time, 1-1: Germany and Italy are headed to a penalty-kick shootout.
Both teams have enjoyed success in these situations, but history matters little to those who are about to step up to the penalty spot.
120th minute +1, 1-1: Italy makes a late substitution, replacing Chiellini with Simone Zaza, as penalty kicks loom.
119th minute, 1-1: Ozil hits a powerful shot on goal from 20 yards out, but it flies straight at the well-positioned Buffon.
Germany is increasing the pressure on Italy, but its improvement might have come too late to avoid penalty kicks.
118th minute, 1-1: Germany appeals for a penalty kick, but the referee ignores their howls.
113th minute, 1-1: Insigne shoots straight at Neuer from a tight angle, but the Germany goalkeeper confidently saves it.
112th minute, 1-1: Schweinsteiger receives a yellow card for a foul on Sturaro.
107th minute, 1-1: Eder exits and Lorenzo Insigne enters as Italy makes another substitution.
Eder takes his spot-kick pedigree from the field to the bench.
107th minute, 1-1: Andrea Barzagli’s misplayed header falls to Draxler, who tries an overhead kick from close range but misses high by about a foot.
106th minute, 1-1: The second half of extra time is under way.
105th minute, 1-1: The first half of extra time is over. The game remains deadlocked at one goal apiece.
103rd minute, 1-1: The referee cautions Giaccherini for grabbing the ball after going down under contact with a Germany defender.
102nd minute, 1-1: Boateng shoots wide from just outside Italy’s penalty area.
100th minute, 1-1: Chiellini blocks Muller’s long-range shot out for a corner kick.
99th minute, 1-1: Italy has been the better side so far in extra time, showing more energy and ambition in the first 10 minutes.
91st minute, 1-1: Pelle receives a yellow card for sticking his studs into Boateng’s ankle. Pelle will be suspended for the semifinal.
91st minute, 1-1: The first period of extra time is under way.
End of normal time, 1-1: That’s the end of the second half. The Germany-Italy Euro 2016 quarterfinal game is going to extra time.
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
The tempo and tension increased in the second half, but the quality didn’t necessarily follow suit. The game remained a tactically complex contest, in which neither team assumed full control of proceedings.
Ozil put Germany into a winning position, but Buffon prevented the world champions from taking a two-goal lead with that stunning save on Gomez’s back-heel.
Italy fought back, and Boateng’s hand-ball gave the Azzuri the break they couldn’t give themselves.
There will be two 15-minute periods of play. If no winner has emerged by then, penalty kicks will determine it.
90th minute, 1-1: A minimum of three minutes will be added in the second half.
90th minute, 1-1: Hummels fouls Eder near the halfway line, and the referee shows the Germany center back a yellow card.
Hummels will be suspended for the semifinal if Germany defeats Italy.
89th minute, 1-1: De Sciglio rolls a shot narrowly wide from 18 yards out.
Italy is ending the second half in impressive fashion, as it has done throughout Euro 2016.
86th minute, 1-1: Florenzi is down on the turf with an apparent injury. He rises to his feet and limps off, as Matteo Darmian replaces him in Italy’s first substitution.
80th minute, 1-1: Florenzi surges up the right channel, cuts inside and passes to Pelle, whose shot from the top of Germany’s penalty area deflects out for a corner kick.
Italy increases the pressure on Germany, with 10 minutes remaining in normal time.
79th minute, 1-1: Germany led Italy for all of 14 minutes … since 1970, as far as competitive games go.
78th minute, 1-1: Bonucci converts the penalty kick, and Italy’s players and fans are going bonkers.
Bonucci, 29, shows tremendous courage in taking that penalty kick over teammates who are more familiar with the spot-kicks.
Germany concedes a goal for the first time at Euro 2016.
77th minute, 1-0 Germany: The referee awards Italy a penalty kick.
The ball hit Boateng’s hand following Giorgio Chiellini’s flick-on header.
74th minute, 1-0 Germany: Pelle misses the target from a promising position inside Germany’s penalty area.
72nd minute, 1-0 Germany: Gomez limps out of action with an apparent injury. Julian Draxler replaces the Germany striker.
68th minute, 1-0 Germany: Gomez beats the offside trap and takes a pass in Italy’s penalty area. His first touch isn’t very good, but he tries to beat Buffon with an audacious back-heel. Buffon saves it over the crossbar for a corner kick.
Germany is ascendant following Ozil’s goal.
65th minute, 1-0 Germany: Ozil puts Germany ahead with a timely goal.
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci deflected Jonas Hector’s cross into the goal-mouth. Ozil darted into the penalty area and poked the ball past Buffon before De Sciglio or Emanuele Giaccherini could intervene.
62nd minute, 0-0: Parolo scuffs a shot well wide of Neuer’s goal.
61st minute, 0-0: Italy’s succession of yellow cards will reduce its margin for error and increase pressure on referee Viktor Kassal in the last half hour (plus extra time).
59th minute, 0-0: Marco Parolo receives a yellow card for a high boot on Gomez.
57th minute, 0-0: De Sciglio receives a yellow card for fouling. The Italy midfielder will be suspended for the semifinal.
56th minute, 0-0: The referee shows Sturaro a yellow card for protesting a foul on Mesut Ozil.
54th minute, 0-0: Boateng fires a shot over Italy’s goal.
Germany roars back into contention for victory with successive goal-scoring chances.
54th minute, 0-0: Alessandro Florenzi spectacularly deflects Muller’s shot out for a corner kick.
50th minute, 0-0: Italy shows more impetus than Germany in the opening phase of the second half. Whether the Italians can maintain control remains to be seen. So far, so good from Conte’s group.
46th minute, 0-0: The second half of Germany-Italy is under way.
History suggests the second half will be a livelier affair than the first.
Halftime, 0-0: That’s the end of the first half. It’s goal-less in Bordeaux.
Those tuning in with hopes of watching a blockbuster must be disappointed, as Germany and Italy canceled each other out in a largely uneventful first half. The teams narrowed the space and limited the opposition to half-chances, as the game too often was bogged down in midfield.
Germany’s three center backs kept Pelle and Eder quiet.
Italy’s hard-running midfield has prevented Kroos from exerting his normal influence over the game.
43rd minute, 0-0: Germany defender Jerome Boateng deflects Stefano Sturaro’s shot wide of Germany’s goal and out for a corner kick.
42nd minute, 0-0: Toni Kroos’ mis-kick rolls to Thomas Muller, but the Germany forward scuffs his shot right to Buffon. A month ago, we predicted Muller would lead Euro 2016 in goals. He has yet to score in France.
41st minute, 0-0: Gomez heads Joshua Kimmich’s cross wide of Buffon’s goal, as Germany’s first attempt goes awry.
34th minute, 0-0: Just 10 minutes remain in the first half, and neither team has seriously threatened the other. Italy has mastered the art of scoring late goals in this tournament, so we can’t really fault the Azzuri for their lack of endeavor — especially in the face of perhaps the strongest team in the tournament.
27th minute, 0-0: Schweinsteiger thinks he has scored, but the referee disallows the goal because the Germany midfielder fouled Mattia De Sciglio as the ball floated in their direction.
25th minute, 0-0: Germany’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2012 semifinals looms large in Low’s thinking. Germany attacked with abandon and created too many openings at the back, which Italy famously exploited.
This time, Germany has added another central defender to the mix and achieved the balance it lacked four years ago … so far.
20th minute, 0-0: Gomez can’t quite reach Mats Hummels’ accurate delivery into Italy’s penalty area. Buffon collects it.
16th minute, 0-0: Khedira’s quarterfinal is over because of injury. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany’s captain, replaces Khedira in his team’s first substitution.
Schweinsteiger can cope with this pressure-packed situation, but questions surround his form and fitness. The 31-year-old has played just two Premier League games with Manchester United in 2016.
13th minute, 0-0: Sami Khedira is down on the field with a problem we can’t quite determine. He’s receiving treatment, but it looks like he’ll be able to continue. The 29-year-old Germany midfielder has a history of injury problems.
Seventh minute, 0-0: What an uneventful start to a game most consider seismic. Perhaps it’s because concentration and ability to cope with pressure are at a premium. Many of these players are familiar with such high-stakes situations … and the opposition.
Neither Germany coach Joachim Low nor Italy coach Antonio Conte seem keen on taking too many risks early on.
Third minute, 0-0: As expected, Germany has dominated possession so far, but Italy seems content to defend and counter from deep in its own half.
Kickoff: The Germany-Italy Euro 2016 quarterfinal is under way in Bordeaux.
Pregame: The teams are heading onto the field for the anthems and kickoff. Let’s take a look at the lineups.
Two of the best goalkeepers in the world will demonstrate their talents, as Germany’s Manuel Neuer and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon look to extend their shutout streaks.
Expect a clash of styles, with Germany looking to control possession and create goal-scoring opportunities from the midfield area.
Italy should defend compactly but break forward with quick counter-attacks.
Germany striker Mario Gomez and his Italy counterpart, Graziano Pelle, will be in the limelight. Both have shined at Euro 2016.
2:30 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups:
Germany
Italy
1 p.m. ET: If Germany is to join the ranks of soccer’s all-time great teams, it must end the hex Italy seems to have cast over it.
Germany faces Italy on Saturday at the Stade de Bordeaux in France in the quarterfinals of the 2016 UEFA European Championship. The game pits two of the soccer world’s traditional powers against one another in the tournament’s most highly anticipated contest to date.
The teams have been perhaps the most impressive of all the Euro 2016 participants. Italy won two of three group-stage games, losing only to Ireland in a game it didn’t need to win in order to top Group E. The Azzuri then dispatched reigning Euro champion Spain 2-0 in the Round of 16.
Germany has won three of its four games at Euro 2016, with a goal-less draw with Poland in the Group C finale representing its only blemish. The Mannschaft returned to winning ways in the Round of 16, beating Slovakia 3-0. Germany, the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, hasn’t conceded a goal at Euro 2016.
Germany has never beaten Italy in a competitive game, with the Italians boasting four wins and four draws in their eight heated encounters, including a 2-1 win in the Euro 2012 semifinals and a 2-0 win in the 2006 FIFA World Cup semifinals.
Despite their storied histories, continental glory has eluded the teams for some time. Germany hasn’t won a European Championship since 1996. Italy last celebrated a Euro triumph in 1968.
The winner of this quarterfinal will face either France or Iceland on Thursday.
Germany-Italy kicks off at 3 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from Bordeaux.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport/USA TODAY Sports Images
