Italy beats Belgium 2-1, advances to Euro 2020 semifinals
Munich: Italy's defenders celebrated their stops like the attacking players celebrated their goals. Both had plenty of reason to be happy on Friday.
Nicol Barella and Lorenzo Insigne scored a goal each while Leonardo Spinazzola make a key second-half block to give Italy a 2-1 win over Belgium and a spot in the European Championship semifinals.
Everyone, myself included, is really playing with a smile on their faces, said Insigne, whose team extended its national record unbeaten run to 32 games.
Romelu Lukaku kept his team in the game with a penalty right before halftime but the Belgians missed further chances to equalize in the second half as Italy's defenders excelled.
Barella put Italy in the lead in the 31st minute when Jan Vertonghen failed to properly clear the ball. Marco Verratti passed to Barella, who eluded two Belgium defenders before sending it in off the far post.
Insigne got the second in the 44th when he put a curling shot inside the far top corner after skipping past one defender and facing two more.
Belgium was awarded the penalty when Giovanni Di Lorenzo pushed Jeremy Doku shortly before halftime. Lukaku then made it 2-1 by sending his shot down the middle. It was only the second goal Italy has conceded at the tournament.
I didn't see the penalty," Italy coach Robert Mancini said.
"The defense told me it was rather cheap, but that aside, it was very important to produce a top-class performance, and we did just that.
Italy will next play Spain in the semifinals on Tuesday at Wembley Stadium in London. The Spanish defeated Switzerland on penalties in St. Petersburg.
We will now savor this moment. We'll try and rest up because it will be another tough match, Mancini said.
In the second half, Spinazzola just did enough to deny Lukaku on the line with what seemed to be a certain equalizer when Kevin De Bruyne played the ball to the far post. Spinazzola was kissed by his grateful teammates, but he was later carried off on a stretcher with a leg injury.
We'll try and go all the way in this tournament, above all for him, because Spinazzola has been a crucial component of this team, Insigne said.
De Bruyne started the match after recovering from a left ankle injury, but Eden Hazard remained out with a leg injury.
We gave everything that we could. I couldn't be prouder of my players and the staff, Belgium coach Roberto Mart nez said after the end of his top-ranked team's 13-game unbeaten run.
Everything in this tournament has been fantastic and the application and dedication of everyone has been at the highest level.
Belgium played as it had in the 1-0 win over Portugal with defense a priority. A back three quickly became a back five whenever Italy had the ball as Thorgan Hazard and Thomas Meunier retreated to help out.
Mart nez brought on Dries Mertens and Nacer Chadli with about 20 minutes remaining. Chadli nearly set up an equalizer within seconds of coming on, but his cross was too high for Lukaku and it fell behind Thorgan Hazard.
Chadli then had to go off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury after being on the field for only about five minutes. Spinazzola followed in the 79th after he pulled up sharply while chasing the ball.
We're gutted about Spinazzola's injury. He didn't deserve that, Mancini said.
Because he was playing extraordinarily well, he's been one of the best players at Euro 2020. We are absolutely gutted and we'd like to send him our best wishes. (AP)
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
