Italy will meet defending champion Spain in the Final at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on Sunday, July 1. Span beat Portugal in the other semifinal on June 27.
Extending its winless streak against Italy in major tournaments to eight matches, Germany had no answer for Balotelli nor Antonio Cassano’s creativity.
In the 20th minute, Balotelli had no trouble getting past Holger Badstuber to head in a pinpoint cross from Cassano. Then in the 36th, the 21-year-old striker received the ball behind the defense and blasted a long shot into the top right corner.
While he did score against Ireland, Balotelli was criticized for wasting numerous chances against Spain, Croatia and England.
Germany failed to trouble Italy for much of the match, but Mesut Oezil scored a consolation penalty in injury time after Federico Balzaretti was whistled for a handball.
While Italy has won four World Cups, it’s only European Championship title came in 1968. Like when they won the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, the Azzurri have managed to maintain their focus despite a match-fixing and betting scandal at home.
Spain have a record of W8 D12 L10 all-time versus Italy, but seven of those victories have come in friendly matches.
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