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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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
