Italy set up a Euro 2020 semi-final clash with Spain following a hardfought 2-1 win against Belgium on Friday evening.

Roberto Mancini’s men had a 2-0 lead inside 44 minutes thanks to goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne.

Romelu Lukaku pulled one back for Belgium in first-half stoppage time, but Italy held on to book a place in the last four.

Leonardo Bonucci thought he had given Italy a 13th-minute lead when he prodded home a free-kick from close-range.
However, VAR ruled the goal out as the Juventus defender was adjudged to be offside when the onrushing Giovanni Di Lorenzo diverted the ball into his teammate’s path.

Italy took the lead in the 31st minute through Nicolo Barella who was played in by Marco Verratti after Youri Tielemans lost possession on the edge of his box.

And when it looked like Italy would be going into the break with a 1-0 advantage, a bit of magic from Insigne doubled his side’s lead on 44 minutes.

The Napoli winger was not closed down when he cut inside on to his right foot and curled in an unstoppable strike from 25 yards a minute before half-time.

There was more drama to come when Di Lorenzo’s push on Jeremy Doku inside the box gave Belgium a lifeline in first-half injury-time.

Lukaku stepped up and slotted the ball past Donnarumma to score his fourth goal at Euro 2020.

But every effort by the Belgians to drag the game to extra-time proved abortive as the Italians held on for the win.