Germany beat Italy for the first time in a major tournament after a penalty shootout that seemed to go on forever.
The match had finished 1-1 in normal time, a Mesut Özil goal having been nulled by Leonardo Bonucci’s 78th minute penalty.
Six players missed in a wide variety of ways during the first five rounds, including Thomas Müller,Graziano Pelle,Mesut Ozil,Bastian Schweinsteiger and Simone Zaza.

Finally Manuel Neuer stopped Matteo Darmian’s shot in the ninth round and unheralded Jonas Hector finally managed to squeeze a shot past a hapless Bufffon.

“It was a war for my nerves,” Neuer said. “As a goalkeeper, it’s something special.”

Buffon, who made his first appearance for Italy in 1997, was disconsolate

“It was shocking what went on,” he said. “Managing to lose on the final penalty, having seen them miss three out of five? I don’t think that’s ever happened before. It’s inexplicable.”.
Highlights..