Pirlo's long shot was saved by Casillas and Italy got a corner kick.
This corner kick opportunity is rare and should be Italy's last chance.
The referee looked at his watch frequently and signaled Pirlo to take the penalty as soon as possible.
Standing in the corner flag area, Pirlo felt almost exhausted. He wanted to see the position of his teammates and choose a good tactic.
But there was no time.
He looked towards the penalty area. The penalty area was now in chaos, and there were about 20 seconds left in the game.
At that moment, he suddenly saw a blue figure shining in front of him! Under the sunlight, Pirlo could see very clearly.
Old man, I know what you want to do!
My pass must be in place!
Pirlo no longer hesitated, he took a few steps back and quickly passed the ball to the penalty area!
Balotelli, De Rossi, Barzagli and other tall players are all waiting for opportunities in the center of the penalty area. Cassano and other short players are also wandering around the penalty area! Even Buffon came up and was very conspicuous in the center of the penalty area!
But the Spanish players didn't expect that Pirlo's pass was passed to the front point, and the position was not high, so he couldn't header the ball at all!
Could it be Pirlo's rumor?
no!
In front of the penalty area, a figure quickly bypassed Alba, jumped on the spot, and shot in the air!
"The ball went in!!!"
"The ball is in!!!!!!"
"Pirlo's pass was passed to the front point, and Del Piero grabbed the point. He volleyed and shot the ball into the near corner!"
"This shot is so cool! This is Del Piero's classic way of scoring, a volley shot!"
"The 35-year-old veteran seems to have returned to his 20s. He once scored such a wonderful goal in his career! Now this goal is even more exciting! More important!"
"In the last moment of the game, we equalized the score!"
Vieri in the live broadcast room banged the table hard and shouted loudly!
Di Livio on the side was even more excited with his hands trembling: "I knew Del could do it! Spain can score two goals in five minutes, and Del can score two goals in five minutes! He is the spiritual leader of Italy! He is Hope for Italy!”
At this time, at the side of the court, Yun Sheng closed his eyes, kept his feet motionless, and punched hard with both hands. Although the range of the punch was not large, it was extremely powerful!
Regardless of the outcome of this game, it is worth it to be able to draw a wonderful draw at the last moment!
Before the game, I used an S-level [Farewell Gift] for Del Piero. Del Piero lived up to expectations and deserved the armband on his arm!
At this time, the referee's whistle sounded and the regular game time was over.
What follows is 30 minutes of overtime, with players from both teams making final preparations.
Both sides have now used up three substitutions, but because Italy has encountered continuous injuries and used up their substitutions early, their physical condition is even worse.
In particular, several veterans such as Pirlo, Del Piero, and Barzagli are at the end of their game.
Looking back at the Spanish team, the three new forwards are in excellent physical condition and can still compete at their best during the 30 minutes of overtime.
Yunsheng made a decisive decision - retreated across the board!
Now only Balotelli, who has the best physical fitness, is left in front. He is like a nail in the Spanish backcourt, making their passing football a thorn in the side.
Del Piero and Cassano seemed to be able to attack at any time, but their physical fitness had declined so seriously that it was almost impossible to provide help to Balotelli.
The referee's whistle sounded and the first half of overtime began!
From the first minute, Spain has taken the absolute initiative!
Especially the three forwards frequently created murderous opportunities near the Italian team's penalty area!
"Mata's curve ball outside the penalty area! Buffon was very stretched and saved the ball steadily!"
"Xavi's corner kick went to the center! Bonucci headed the ball out!"
"This time it was Pedro who stepped on his bicycle in the penalty area. No Italian player dared to take a step easily!"
"Pass to Torres! Torres's shot! Grosso from behind cleared the ball!"
"As the lucky star of Spanish football, Torres now has high hopes!"
"This time it was Busquets who headed the ball from the back! Buffon made another great save!"
"This save is very similar to Buffon's save against Zidane in the 2006 world-class final!"
"This is Buffon's best save so far in the game!"
"Is this a hint that today's result will be like the 2006 World Cup final?"
With the end of this wonderful save, the first half of overtime also ended.
There was no intermission, the two sides exchanged positions, and the second half of overtime continued.
Now most of the Italian players can no longer run. Their semi-final is one day later and they have one less day of rest than the Spanish team. Now the gap is clearly visible.
Under the organization of captain Del Piero and vice-captain Buffon, the entire team has returned to the penalty area, except for Balotelli who remains in the center circle, suppressing the two Spanish defenders.
Now the Spanish players can't run anymore. Their passing football has no physical support, and now they can't play anymore.
During this period, Spain is no longer playing pass-and-control football, but the most common technical coordination. Especially the three forwards frequently use their personal skills to seek breakthroughs. Their excellent skills and sufficient physical fitness have brought Italian players A lot of trouble.
Del Piero closely followed Torres and tried his best to suppress the Spanish striker. The Italian captain's legs were shaking, but he still persisted, and his almost cramped state did not stop his defensive efforts.
Midfield master Pirlo also changed his elegant appearance. At this time, he followed the active Mata and received a yellow card for a tackle just now. Now for Pirlo, keeping the goal is more important than anything else.
As time passed by, the penalty shootout was getting closer and closer.
The Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque on the sidelines no longer has the composure of the past. At this moment, he is also shouting for the players on the sidelines.
"Strengthen effective passing! Pay attention to shooting accuracy!"
He knew very well that the Spanish team was in the lead now, especially because of the obvious physical advantage. It was best to use this overtime to win against the Italian team. If not, he would have to wait until the penalty shootout to try his luck.
It's now the 28th minute of injury time, and the Spanish team is making a desperate move!
Alonso and Xavi cooperated in consecutive one-twos, and the ace passing and control cores of Real Madrid and Barcelona joined forces to attack the Italian defense!
Pedro used his flexibility to control the ball and look for opportunities in the Italian penalty area!
Grosso stared closely at Pedro, not giving him any chance to break through, not easily stretching his feet, and definitely not giving him a chance to create a penalty kick!
Pedro passed the ball to the other side of the penalty area. The moment Mata stopped the ball, Marco Motta came close to him!
As Abate's substitute, Marco Motta performed very well after coming on and completed the defensive task perfectly!
Mata passes the ball to Torres at the top of the penalty area!
As soon as Torres leaked, the ball rolled towards Xavi!
Gattuso makes a fierce horizontal tackle! Xavi didn't get the ball!
Pirlo kicked the ball into the frontcourt, and Balotelli and Ramos ran towards the ball at the same time!
Ramos got the ball!
Balotelli pulled him down from behind!
This must be a free kick!
But Balotelli doesn't care, as long as it can delay time!
The referee did not blow a free kick, his whistle sounded, and overtime was over!
The penalty shootout is about to begin!
