Italy beat Spain 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a magnificent Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley on Tuesday, watched by a crowd of almost 58,000.
Spain coach Luis Enrique dropped Morata and selected Mikel Oyarzabal to start on their right flank up front.
They were not always on top in this game though, with Spain the better side for long spells of an epic contest.
Despite this, Federico Chiesa, the Juventus forward, gave Italy the lead with a fabulous finish an hour into a match.
Spain reacted by sending on Morata and Gerard Moreno, and just as Italy looked to be seeing out the victory, Morata got the leveller.
After collecting the ball midway inside the opposition half, Morata played a one-two with Olmo as he cut through the defence and slotted in.
Morata’s equaliser with 10 minutes of normal time left, leading the match into extra-time.
There were no goals during extra-time either and for the second time in two matches, Spain has to resort to the penalty shootout.
Locatelli’s penalty was blocked by Unai Simon and had Dani Olmo converted his chance, Spain could have grabbed the initiative.
Sadly for Spain, Olmo over-kicked the ball which went flying over the bar.
Although Thiago and Gerard Moreno scored, Morata’s familiar lack of self-belief came to fore as his feeble kick was easily blocked by Donnarumma.
For Italy, Belotti and Bonucci scored the second and third penalty kicks to keep the pressure on Spain.
Jorginho converted the decisive kick to take the Azzurri through to the final of a tournament in which they have been the outstanding side.
