Cristiana Girelli scored a 90th-minute winner as Italy beat Norway 2-1 on Wednesday to book their spot in the semifinals at the Women’s European Championship.
It marks Italy’s first semifinal appearance at a major tournament since the 1997 Women’s Euro when they defeated Spain before losing to Germany in the final.
The Italians took the lead five minutes into the second half through Girelli’s close-range finish and they had the ball in the net again three minutes later only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Norway captain Ada Hegerberg then won a penalty but fired her spot kick wide for the second time at the tournament before levelling with a deft finish in the 66th minute to silence the raucous Italian fans in the crowd.
With the game heading for extra time, Girelli ghosted in at the far post to head home her second of the game and give Italy their first knockout stage win at a major tournament since the 2019 World Cup.
They will next face either reigning champions England or Sweden, who meet in Zurich on Thursday.
Information from Reuters and ESPN Research was used in this report.