Cesare Prandelli's men should have won the game in normal time, but their poor finishing meant they only secured qualification following a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
Italy progressed to the semi-finals of Euro 2012 after beating England 4-2 on penalty kicks after both teams were locked at 0-0 over 120 minutes of tense nail-biting soccer, which the Italians dominated in almost its entirety.
Following a horrible start to the shoot-out, where Riccardo Montolivo missed Italy's second attempt, Ashley Young rifled the ball onto the crossbar and Ashley Cole's weak penalty was saved by a stretching Gianluigi Buffon.
Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney converted England's other two spot-kicks, while Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Nocerino did the same for the Italians, before Alessandro Diamanti fired home the all-important winner.
Italy will go on to face Germany, the only team to remain with a perfect record in the competition, in the semi-finals in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday.
After an uneventful first half, where both teams failed to create decent goal-scoring opportunities, the Italians took the initiative in the second, and dominated their lacklustre and somewhat limited opponents for large periods.
Italy had much of the ball, and while England could barely get a hold of it, especially because they opted to sit back and pack their defence, Roy Hodgson's side actually looked quite dangerous when they pushed forward on swift, and potentially decisive counter-attacks.
The Azzurri hit the post twice, first through Daniele De Rossi and then through Diamanti, but despite outplaying their rivals in every sector of the field they were extremely wasteful when presented with goal-scoring opportunities, as strikers Antonio Cassano and Balotelli were off touch, despite the fact that Pirlo provided adequate service for both.
In total, Italy fired 35 shots on goal compared to only nine from England, clearly identifying which of the two teams had more domination of the ball in an attacking sense.
For England, their elimination could hardly be more heartbreaking, as it meant they made another exit from a major competition after a penalty shoot-out. England were beaten by Portugal in this manner at Euro 2004 and also at the 2006 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the victory meant that Italy have an opportunity to earn back the pride lost after being eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the group stage. If they manage to beat Germany in the semi-finals, they will face the winner of the other semi-final between Portugal and Spain in the final on July 1.
Following a horrible start to the shoot-out, where Riccardo Montolivo missed Italy's second attempt, Ashley Young rifled the ball onto the crossbar and Ashley Cole's weak penalty was saved by a stretching Gianluigi Buffon.
Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney converted England's other two spot-kicks, while Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Nocerino did the same for the Italians, before Alessandro Diamanti fired home the all-important winner.
Italy will go on to face Germany, the only team to remain with a perfect record in the competition, in the semi-finals in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday.
After an uneventful first half, where both teams failed to create decent goal-scoring opportunities, the Italians took the initiative in the second, and dominated their lacklustre and somewhat limited opponents for large periods.
Italy had much of the ball, and while England could barely get a hold of it, especially because they opted to sit back and pack their defence, Roy Hodgson's side actually looked quite dangerous when they pushed forward on swift, and potentially decisive counter-attacks.
The Azzurri hit the post twice, first through Daniele De Rossi and then through Diamanti, but despite outplaying their rivals in every sector of the field they were extremely wasteful when presented with goal-scoring opportunities, as strikers Antonio Cassano and Balotelli were off touch, despite the fact that Pirlo provided adequate service for both.
In total, Italy fired 35 shots on goal compared to only nine from England, clearly identifying which of the two teams had more domination of the ball in an attacking sense.
For England, their elimination could hardly be more heartbreaking, as it meant they made another exit from a major competition after a penalty shoot-out. England were beaten by Portugal in this manner at Euro 2004 and also at the 2006 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the victory meant that Italy have an opportunity to earn back the pride lost after being eliminated from the 2010 World Cup in the group stage. If they manage to beat Germany in the semi-finals, they will face the winner of the other semi-final between Portugal and Spain in the final on July 1.
