England suffered another penalty heartbreak after losing 4-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw against Italy in the quarter-final of Euro 2012 in Kiev.
Italy dominated for huge swathes of the contest but were unable to find the killer blow, with England restricted to a series of half-chances.
Two exhausted teams failed to threaten in extra-time, with Antonio Nocerino's disallowed goal the closest either team came to avoiding the dreaded shootout.
The match went into penalties and Wayne Rooney had put England 2-1 ahead in the shoot-out following Riccardo Montolivo's miss.
However, Ashley Young then pinged his shot off the crossbar and Ashley Cole had his shot saved by Gianluigi Buffon to hand Alessandro Diamanti the chance to convert the winning spot-kick.
Italy will next play Germany in the semifinals on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland.
Lineups:
England: Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole; James Milner (Theo Walcott, 61), Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker (Jordan Henderson, 94), Ashley Young; Wayne Rooney; Danny Welbeck (Andy Carroll, 60)
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon; Ignazio Abate (Christian Maggio, 90), Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Federico Balzaretti; Andrea Pirlo; Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Daniele De Rossi (Antonio Nocerino, 80); Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano (Alessandro Diamanti, 78)
 | |
| Italy player Alessandro Diamanti celebrates after scoring the winning penalty against England Photo: Reuters |
Italy dominated for huge swathes of the contest but were unable to find the killer blow, with England restricted to a series of half-chances.
Two exhausted teams failed to threaten in extra-time, with Antonio Nocerino's disallowed goal the closest either team came to avoiding the dreaded shootout.
The match went into penalties and Wayne Rooney had put England 2-1 ahead in the shoot-out following Riccardo Montolivo's miss.
However, Ashley Young then pinged his shot off the crossbar and Ashley Cole had his shot saved by Gianluigi Buffon to hand Alessandro Diamanti the chance to convert the winning spot-kick.
Italy will next play Germany in the semifinals on Thursday in Warsaw, Poland.
Lineups:
England: Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole; James Milner (Theo Walcott, 61), Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker (Jordan Henderson, 94), Ashley Young; Wayne Rooney; Danny Welbeck (Andy Carroll, 60)
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon; Ignazio Abate (Christian Maggio, 90), Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Federico Balzaretti; Andrea Pirlo; Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Daniele De Rossi (Antonio Nocerino, 80); Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano (Alessandro Diamanti, 78)
Don't forget to check us out on Twitter and Facebook for more soccer updates!
