Italy, Danes march into EURO 2020 quarter-finals

▶ Italy 2 Austria 1 (AET)
▶ Denmark 4  Wales 0

London, UK | THE INDEPENDENT |  A bittersweet outing at Wembley, but Austria exit the competition with their heads held high.

For 120 minutes, they went toe-to-toe with the stand-out team of the tournament and had their fans dreaming of the impossible. In the end, only

Italy’s immense squad depth could separate the two sides, but that’s no slight on Foda’s squad.

Italy were on the verge of suffering a knockout blow in the second half but found some much-needed fresh energy from the bench – through substitute Chiesa in the 95th minute.

Pessina made it 2-0 for Italy, before Austria pulled one back through Kalajdzic in the 114th minute.

Earlier, goals from Kasper Dolberg, Joakim Mæhle and Martin Braithwaite propelled a commanding Denmark side into the EURO 2020 quarter-finals.

Denmark outclassed Wales with an impressive performance to reach their first EURO quarter-final in 17 years, as Kasper Dolberg became the first Danish player to score two goals in a EURO knockout game since 1992.

Heavily involved in the early exchanges, Gareth Bale threatened during a positive start by Wales. The captain drilled wide twice in the space of a couple of minutes, before a clutch of white shirts rebuffed a close-range Aaron Ramsey volley.

However, the turning point came when Dolberg converted the Danes’ first real chance before the half-hour, latching onto Mikkel Damsgaard’s defence-splitting ball to curl exquisitely inside Danny Ward’s left upright.

To nullify Welsh danger men Ramsey and Bale, Kasper Hjulmand’s side switched to a back four and consolidated their foothold in this last-16 tie.

As half-time loomed, Joakim Mæhle’s snapshot was repelled by Ward, but De Rød-Hvide were in control regardless – getting in behind and setting the tempo.

Dolberg duly pounced again shortly after the restart: Neco Williams’s panicked clearance fell kindly for the striker to take a touch and drive home his second of the evening in Amsterdam.

Wales continued to probe, but the Welsh counterattack proved no match for the unwavering Danish defensive block. To cap a super display, Mæhle cut inside and shot high into the net for Denmark’s third, before Martin Braithwaite thumped home the stoppage-time fourth. Co-hosts Denmark, beaten in their first two games of this EURO, are the first team into the quarter-finals.

****

SOURCE: UEFAEURO2020 media