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'The heart of Italians!' - Bonucci thrilled after 'dominating' Belgium en route to Euro 2020 semi-final
The Azzurri brought their A-game once again as they pushed their way into the competition's final four
Leonardo Bonucci says he and his team-mates showed "the heart of this Italy side and of the Italians" in a 2-1 win over Belgium in the Euro 2020 quarter-final on Friday.
The victory pushes Italy into the tournament's semi-finals, where they will face Spain for a spot in the finale.
So far, Italy have been perfect through the Euros, having allowed just two goals while scoring 11 of their own.
What was said?
“We knew Belgium’s quality, especially in attack and the danger they posed to us on the counter,” Bonucci told RAI Sport.
“We went 2-0 up and were dominating the game, then they got back into it with a dubious penalty, we did really well to hold on and showed once again how important the heart of this Italy side and of the Italians is."
'A deserved victory'
Italy boss Roberto Mancini said he believed his side deserved their win, even if they had to "suffer" through the last 10 minutes.
Italy took the lead in the 31st minute on a goal from Nicolo Barella, having previously seen a goal waved off due to an offside call.
They doubled that lead 13 minutes later on a goal from Lorenzo Insigne, but conceded a penalty just before half-time that was converted by Romelu Lukaku.
The second half of the game was far from free-flowing, but Mancini had little issue with that as his side held onto the win.
“We deserved the victory. The lads were extraordinary, and clearly we suffered in the last 10 minutes as we were really tired, but we could’ve scored more goals earlier,” the coach told RAI Sport.
“I didn’t see 25 minutes of struggle at the start. There were chances at both ends, it was an open game. We only struggled in the last 10 minutes when Belgium started playing a long ball game.”
'It just wouldn't end!'
Gianluigi Donnarumma, playing in his first major tournament, was also left beaming with pride after Italy's win
The young goalkeeper, who is expected to join Paris Saint-Germain in the coming days, made a key first-half save on Kevin De Bruyne before helping Italy kill the game in its final moments.
Just seconds before the final whistle, Donnarumma turned towards the Italian fans and pumped his fists with pride as Italy moved one step closer to a trophy.
"The game was endless! It just wouldn’t end! This group is extraordinary, we deserve this and now we’ll play the semi-final, as we slowly approach our objective,” the goalkeeper told RAI Sport.
He added: “I always try to help the team, I’m emotional as this is my first major tournament and I wanted to progress as much as possible with the Italy jersey. I hope to make everyone’s dream come true.”
