One more game to go, the final 90 minutes of a (so far) magical tournament. Italy are heading back to Wembley on Sunday on the hunt for their second title in the Euros in their history following the triumph of 1968, and also nine years after Cesare Prandelli’s side were beaten in the final by a far superior Spain side in Kyiv.

Italy have halted La Roja’s for the second Euro running and also extended their current unbeaten run to 33, just two away from the absolute record set by Spain from 2007 to 2009. The Azzurri needed penalties to overcome the Spanish after 120 hard-fought minutes. “It was a really tough game,” said head coach Roberto Mancini. “We suffered as Spain had plenty of possession but we really wanted to reach the final and did as much. You play at the World Cup or the Euros, it’s normal that we have to dig deep in some games in order to win. It can’t all just be plain sailing. The praise for this win goes to the lads. We want to dedicate this victory to all Italians due to all that has gone on. We’re happy; nobody really believed in us at the start. Now, we need to regain our strength and play in a final.”

He scored off the bench against Austria; this evening, Federico Chiesa started and scored another great goal: “It’s the best night of my career. I’m proud to have reproduced a goal similar to one that my father scored. We dedicate this win to Spinazzola,” said the Azzurri’s number 14 and tonight’s Star of the Match. “We don’t have long to recover; we’ve played almost every three games throughout this season and will be in top form for the final.”

At the end of the match, Lorenzo Insigne donned a number 4 Spinazzola shirt. This is a sentiment shared by Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was vital in the shoot-out with a save to deny Morata: “We look at all of them with the goalkeeping coaches but instinct does play a role,” he said of the penalty save. “It’s an indescribable feeling. I was calm because I knew that I could help my team. Now, we just have one more step to go to achieve our dream. England or Denmark in the final? We’ll just enjoy this evening; we’ll think about that tomorrow.”

Leonardo Bonucci was in tears at the end of a match, which saw him reach Gigi Buffon as the player with the most appearances at the Euros (17): “They’re tears of joy; it was a really tough game today. Spain dominated; we hadn’t come up against a team that caused us that many problems, so I have to give praise to Luis Enrique. But the heart of Italians never stops beating. We owed it to ourselves, to Spinazzola and to all of our fans. Now, we just need to go that extra step in order to become legends.”