<p>Bad luck and a fake penalty eliminate Italy: England reaches the European Championship final</p>

Italy is out of the European Championships . Andrea Soncin 's Azzurre, after initially taking the lead thanks to Barbara Bonansea 's goal in the 33rd minute - which she celebrated by sticking out her tongue à la Del Piero - were caught in the 96th minute by 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang , who then also hit the crossbar during the second half of extra time. Arsenal striker Chloe Kelly put an end to the Azzurre's European Championship campaign, after having wasted a chance from the penalty spot - perfectly saved by Laura Giuliani - She scored the 2-1 goal from the rebound. Sarina Wiegman 's team thus reaches the final stage of the tournament, scheduled for July 27th at St. Jakob-Park in Basel. The final spot is now contested by Germany and Spain, who will play on Wednesday the 23rd at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich.

"The girls should be proud of what they've achieved. Going out like this hurts a lot, but holding our own against the champions should give us so much confidence for the future. There are no words to describe the emotions we've experienced along this journey. This evening, as much as the girls fought, we deserved a different ending. It's disappointing, but we're proud." This is what Andrea Soncin said to Rai after Italy's 2-1 defeat to England in the semifinal of the Women's European Football Championship. "Playing a match like this until the 120th minute against the reigning champions, when everyone was writing us off even before the match, should give some sense of the level that Italian women's football is reaching, " Soncin added. " We've made so much progress in these two years, and we can still grow a lot. There's been so much affection and messages of support these past few days, and the girls should be proud of this because it's another achievement they've made. We were close to reaching the dream of playing in the final, and from what we've seen, we deserved it."