Sport
Mario Balotelli puts Italy in the Euro 2012 final against Spain
Mario Balotelli scores his second goal against Germany. Italy beat Germany 2-1. PHOTO/Getty Images
Mario Balotelli finally showed some quality finishing, scoring twice in the first half Thursday to give Italy a 2-1 win over Germany and an unexpected spot in the European Championship final.
Extending its winless streak against Italy in major tournaments to eight matches, Germany had no answer for Balotelli’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.
“This is the greatest night of my life, but I hope Sunday is going to be even better,” said Balotelli, who went over to his mother after the match and dedicated the goals to her. “In the opening matches I had a lot of chances, and I wasn’t able to finish them. But In soccer you also need luck.”
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.
Germany had entered the game on a world record 15-match winning streak in competitive matches.
“It’s a very bitter defeat,” Germany captain Philipp Lahm said. “We tried everything in the second half but our goal came too late. We have so much potential in our team but if we cannot give the right performance at the right time or are not clever enough, then we lose such a game.”
