كتب : Mohamed Sabe
Spain needed a shootout to beat Italy 4-2 in Vienna after two sublime saves from skipper Iker Casillas.
Saint Iker denied Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale before Francesc Fabregas scored the decisive spot kick.
The win also ended a bad record for the Spaniards who had lost three quarter-final penalty shootouts in major tournaments on June 22nd.
Man of the Day: Iker Casillas
Casillas was like an octopus against Italy and managed to deny Luca Toni and his teammates on three occasions.
The Real Madrid guardian superbly parried the efforts of De Rossi and Di Natale in the shootout to secure Spain's place in the semi-finals.
Save of the Day: Casillas denies Mauro Camoranesi
Italy's attempts on Spain's goal were rare, but dangerous. The closest Italy came to finding the net was in the 61st minute when Luca Toni towered to a cross in the Spanish area, causing a goalmouth scrabble.
The ball fell directly to substitute Camoranesi who fired a low drive from close range only for Casillas to show some great reflexes and stop the ball with his foot.
Casillas responded had responded to the threat very swiftly even though he was off-balance. A goal for Italy would have killed off an already fading game.
Play of the Day: Donadoni looking for players to take penalties
Usually, a coach is prepared with a list of players who would act as penalty takers if the game goes to a shootout.
However, it was different for Italy coach Roberto Donadoni who appeared in the cadre asking his players if they wanted to take one of the penalties.
Donadoni were looking at players and asking if anyone wants to volunteer, and you could even see Giorgio Chiellini shaking his head and turning down his coach's offer.
Donadoni confirmed the situation in the post-match press conference when he was asked why he chose De Rossi and Di Natale to take the kick, noting that they were the ones who volunteered while others didn't.
"We made the decision simply because you have to feel you are ready to take a penalty," Donadoni told a news conference.
"I don't decide the penalty takers, I don't oblige them to take them. We decide together when we know how they are feeling."
Quote of the Day: Iker Casillas
Usually players pounce on the opportunity to claim a victory to themselves. But it wasn't the case for Spanish hero Casillas, who remained modest despite denying two spot-kicks.
"I've had good and bad experiences with penalty shootouts," said Casillas.
"We knocked out Ireland and lost to South Korea in the 2002 World Cup and this time we were lucky to go through. They are a complete lottery."