Italy edge Austria in extra-time thriller to advance into Euro 2020 quarter-finals

Italy overcame a scare or two before beating Austria 2-1 in extra time to book a spot in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.

Despite the Italians' immaculate record going into the game, Austria held their own against Roberto Mancini's side in a first-half stalemate.

Nico Barella had an opportunity to put Gli Azzurri ahead, latching on to Leonardo Spinazzola's low-driven cross with a first-time strike, but his effort was kept out by the foot of Daniel Bachmann.

The Austrians came close to taking a shock lead when Marko Arnautovic outpaced the Italian defence, but the forward's audacious volley looped over the crossbar.

The chance of the half fell for Ciro Immobile on the half-hour mark - cleverly creating space, the Lazio striker turned to unleash a fierce long-range effort that cruelly clipped the outside of the post.

Ultimately, Mancini's men were unable to make something of the attacking onslaught as the tie remained goalless at the break.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Austria appeared to have taken the lead when Arnautovic emphatically finished at the back post but their euphoria was short-lived.

A lengthy VAR check deemed the forward to be narrowly offside in the build up to the goal.

Tensions began to run high in the final few minutes as both sides pursued the goal that would settle the fixture.

Their efforts were to no avail, however, as the game rolled on into extra time.

It took all of five minutes for Italy to make the breakthrough, thanks to one of their substitutes.

Quickly capitalising on their opener, they soon added a second on the halfway mark of extra time.

Rounding off a terrific team move, Matteo Pessina evaded the desperate challenges of the Austrian defence to finish across Bachmann and put Italy on the brink. 

A nervy finish was in store, though, with Sasa Kalajdzic pulling one back for Austria from a corner with five minutes left. However, despite their best efforts they could not force an equaliser and Italy advanced.

The result extended the unbeaten run of Roberto Mancini's side to 31 games, the longest streak in the history of the Italian national side.

Stat of the day

From OptaPaolo: 25 - Federico Chiesa scored in a Euro game 25 years and 12 days after the goal of his father Enrico (June 14 vs Czech Republic).

What's next for Italy?

A victory for Italy sees them travel to Munich for a quarter-final clash with the winner of Belgium and Portugal who meet on Sunday (8pm) in Seville.

Should Roberto Mancini's side face the Portuguese, it will be the first time the two teams have played each other in a Euros finals game.

Alternatively, if Belgium advance to the quarters, Gli Azzurri will have played them in back-to-back championships for the first time.

Sunday's other game sees Netherlands face the Czech Republic at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest.