"It was clear that the end of the extra time would be decisive," Lippi said in a press conference following the 2-0 victory over Germany on Tuesday.

"This is why I brought on another attacker and as the game wore on our quality shone through more and more."

Despite failing to break the deadlock throughout 90 minutes, Italy held on to their attacking game with Lippi bringing on more forwards.

He threw Alberto Gilardino, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alessandro Del Piero into the fray in a bid to finish off the game before the shootout.

The policy paid off and Italy scored two back-to-back goals in the dying seconds of the extra-time.

Lippi said he was sure that Del Piero, who scored the second goal, was going to be on the score sheet.

"On the bench I said Del Piero would score, he watched his teammates from the bench as if he was already out there," Lippi said.

"You could see how much he wanted to play and that can make a difference."

Del Piero agreed with his coach but said it was the great fighting spirit of the whole team that led to reaching the final.

"We were desperate to win this, the quality of this team lies in the strength of the squad," Del Piero stressed.

The victory was Italy's second in the closing stages in this tournament after they eliminated Australia 1-0 thanks to a last-gasp penalty from Francesco Totti.

But it wasn't only spirit. Luck had a role to play as well, according to defender Fabio Grosso, who opened the score line with an opportunist strike in the 119th minute.

"The match was very hard, we were already thinking about penalties when I luckily scored," he said.

"I just couldn't believe it and shed tears of joy, the final will be just as difficult and memorable."

Speaking about the final, Lippi said his side should be ready on July ninth in Berlin for either Portugal or France.

"I'd be an idiot to say that I have a preference, as then the others would say ' We'll show you'," Lippi said.