Italy, Denmark reach Euro quarters

LONDON – The Euro 2020 quarter-finals are starting to take shape with Italy and Denmark booking their place in the last eight with wins.

Italy will next play either defending champion Portugal or Belgium in the quarter-finals in Munich on Friday.

The Danes will next play either the Netherlands or the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals in Baku on Saturday.

Substitutes Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina both scored in extra time to give Italy a 2-1 victory over Austria and a spot in the European Championship quarter-finals.

An unmarked Chiesa brought down Leonardo Spinazzola’s high cross with his head, controlled the bouncing ball with his right foot and then used his other foot to shoot low into the net in the fifth minute of extra time, AP reported.

Pessina, who came on midway through the second half, sent the ball into the far corner of the net in the 115th minute.

With the win at Euro 2020, Italy set national team records with its 12th straight victory and 31st straight match unbeaten.

Kasper Dolberg scored two goals in his old stadium to help Denmark beat Wales 4-0 and give the team a spot in the European Championship quarter-finals exactly two weeks after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during the team’s opening match.

Eriksen had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator and spent several days in the hospital before returning home last week.

Both Eriksen and Dolberg played for Ajax, the team that plays its home matches at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Much of the crowd of 16,000 was cheering on the Danes.

Dolberg, who was given his first start of the tournament by Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand, scored a goal in each half. Joakim Maehle scored the third in the 88th minute and Martin Braithwaite added the fourth in injury time.

It was the second match in a row that Denmark scored four times, after beating Russia 4-1 to qualify for the round of 16 after losing its first two matches. Denmark is the first nation to score four or more goals in consecutive matches in the history of the European Championship.