Euro 2012: Spain beats Portugal on penalty kicks

Spain has advanced to the Euro 2012 championship match with a victory over Portugal on Wednesday in Donetsk, Ukraine.

The game was scoreless through regulation and 30 minutes of overtime before the Spaniards prevailed, 4-2, on penalty kicks.

After each team had their first penalty kick blocked, Spain made four consecutive shots, capped by Cesc Fabregas’ strike that hit the left post and bounded down the goal line before it landed in the netting inside the right post.

The winning kick was set up when the shot of Portugal’s Bruno Alves hit the crossbar and caromed back into the field.

Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos each converted their kicks to give Spain a 3-2 lead through four rounds of penalty kicks. Pepe and Nani scored for Portugal.

Spain will play in the final against the winner of Germany and Italy, who meet in the other semifinal Thursday. The championship match is set for Sunday in Kiev at 11:45 a.m. Pacific time.

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