It was the night Mario Balotelli announced himself as a serious, grown-up footballer capable of shaping the biggest occasions. There have been plenty of times he has threatened it before but never with so much efficiency and clinical, sometimes devastating, centre-forward play, or the unmistakable sense that he can be trusted when the heat of the battle is dangerously close to intolerable.
The end result is that Italy will meet Spain at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev while Germany are denied their 14th appearance in the final of a major tournament and will be able to testify, in great detail, what a formidable opponent Balotelli is when his head is clear and his only motivation is to demonstrate those qualities of penetration, directness and an eye for the spectacular.
His first-half goals gave Italy a lead that they cherished until stoppage-time when Federico Balzaretti's handball conceded a penalty. Mesut Ozil beat Gianluigi Buffon but the drama stopped there and Italy were ultimately worthy winners, with enough second-half chances to have made it an even more harrowing night for their opponents.
Spain will begin as favourite but Italy represent difficult opponents, with Andrea Pirlo in imperious form again and Balotelli providing the cutting edge before his substitution, with a minor injury, after 70 minutes. The second, in particular, was a special goal and a reminder why Cesare Prandelli and, not forgetting Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, believes Balotelli is worth the hassles and controversies and unpredictability that comes as part of the package.
There was still plenty for Balotelli to do after Riccardo Montolivo's long, diagonal ball had dissected the German defence but what followed demonstrated a striker playing with bristling confidence. Balotelli took a touch to push the ball in front of him, set off after it and then pulled back his right foot to take aim. The shot was still rising as it went into the top left-hand corner of Manuel Neuer's net, but it was the outside curve of the ball to take it away from the goalkeeper that was really damaging. That, combined with ferocious power, made it a spectacular way to beat Neuer. The goalkeeper barely moved.
It was rare to see Germany sliced open so easily but there had already been signs, for Balotelli's first goal, that this would be a night when their usual efficiency in defence had temporarily deserted them.
Balotelli still showed great awareness and anticipation inside the six-yard area but the majority of credit here went to Antonio Cassano, swivelling past Mats Hummels on the left wing, eluding Jérôme Boateng in the process, then pick out his team-mate with a perfectly weighted cross. It was a wonderful piece of close control from Cassano, taking out two defenders in one movement, and Balotelli was quicker and more decisive than the nearest opponent, Holger Badstuber, flashing his header past Neuer.
This was the first time Germany had been behind in this tournament and it was perhaps their determination to get back into the match quickly that left them so vulnerable for the second goal.
They had been actually been marginally the better side in the opening exchanges and Italy, in defence, had looked unusually hesitant at times. An early mistake from Andrea Barzagli, allowing a corner to go across the six-yard area, gave Hummels a chance from close-range, cleared off the goalline by Andrea Pirlo. Soon afterwards there was an uncharacteristic error from Buffon, turning a cross into the path of Barzagli and grateful that the ricochet took the ball a few inches wide.
Germany could also reflect on a couple of wonderfully struck long-range efforts in the opening half, Buffon denying Toni Kroos and then an even more spectacular save to turn away Sami Khedira's volley. Yet it was only a minute after Khedira's shot that Montolivo took the ball on the left flank, inside his own half, and delivered the pass that sent Balotelli running clear for the second goal.
Joachim Löw responded at half-time by replacing two of his attacking players, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski, with two others, Marco Reus and Miroslav Klose. What they really needed was a goal early in the second half to lift their confidence and change the complexion of the match but Philipp Lahm put a good chance over the goal and Buffon then tipped Reus's free-kick on to the crossbar.
Italy had Pirlo's reassuring presence in his deep-lying midfield position. They also played with great commitment and did not just resort to flooding their defence. Germany were being forced to commit players into attack but that left space behind them and, midway through the second half, Claudio Marchisio had the chance to make it 3-0 but shot wide.
Germany were looking ragged and short of ideas until Ozil's penalty prompted a late, desperate onslaught. Marchisio dragged another effort wide and Balotelli's replacement, Antonio Di Natale, had driven his shot against the post.
The end result is that Italy will meet Spain at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev while Germany are denied their 14th appearance in the final of a major tournament and will be able to testify, in great detail, what a formidable opponent Balotelli is when his head is clear and his only motivation is to demonstrate those qualities of penetration, directness and an eye for the spectacular.
His first-half goals gave Italy a lead that they cherished until stoppage-time when Federico Balzaretti's handball conceded a penalty. Mesut Ozil beat Gianluigi Buffon but the drama stopped there and Italy were ultimately worthy winners, with enough second-half chances to have made it an even more harrowing night for their opponents.
Spain will begin as favourite but Italy represent difficult opponents, with Andrea Pirlo in imperious form again and Balotelli providing the cutting edge before his substitution, with a minor injury, after 70 minutes. The second, in particular, was a special goal and a reminder why Cesare Prandelli and, not forgetting Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, believes Balotelli is worth the hassles and controversies and unpredictability that comes as part of the package.
There was still plenty for Balotelli to do after Riccardo Montolivo's long, diagonal ball had dissected the German defence but what followed demonstrated a striker playing with bristling confidence. Balotelli took a touch to push the ball in front of him, set off after it and then pulled back his right foot to take aim. The shot was still rising as it went into the top left-hand corner of Manuel Neuer's net, but it was the outside curve of the ball to take it away from the goalkeeper that was really damaging. That, combined with ferocious power, made it a spectacular way to beat Neuer. The goalkeeper barely moved.
It was rare to see Germany sliced open so easily but there had already been signs, for Balotelli's first goal, that this would be a night when their usual efficiency in defence had temporarily deserted them.
Balotelli still showed great awareness and anticipation inside the six-yard area but the majority of credit here went to Antonio Cassano, swivelling past Mats Hummels on the left wing, eluding Jérôme Boateng in the process, then pick out his team-mate with a perfectly weighted cross. It was a wonderful piece of close control from Cassano, taking out two defenders in one movement, and Balotelli was quicker and more decisive than the nearest opponent, Holger Badstuber, flashing his header past Neuer.
This was the first time Germany had been behind in this tournament and it was perhaps their determination to get back into the match quickly that left them so vulnerable for the second goal.
They had been actually been marginally the better side in the opening exchanges and Italy, in defence, had looked unusually hesitant at times. An early mistake from Andrea Barzagli, allowing a corner to go across the six-yard area, gave Hummels a chance from close-range, cleared off the goalline by Andrea Pirlo. Soon afterwards there was an uncharacteristic error from Buffon, turning a cross into the path of Barzagli and grateful that the ricochet took the ball a few inches wide.
Germany could also reflect on a couple of wonderfully struck long-range efforts in the opening half, Buffon denying Toni Kroos and then an even more spectacular save to turn away Sami Khedira's volley. Yet it was only a minute after Khedira's shot that Montolivo took the ball on the left flank, inside his own half, and delivered the pass that sent Balotelli running clear for the second goal.
Joachim Löw responded at half-time by replacing two of his attacking players, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski, with two others, Marco Reus and Miroslav Klose. What they really needed was a goal early in the second half to lift their confidence and change the complexion of the match but Philipp Lahm put a good chance over the goal and Buffon then tipped Reus's free-kick on to the crossbar.
Italy had Pirlo's reassuring presence in his deep-lying midfield position. They also played with great commitment and did not just resort to flooding their defence. Germany were being forced to commit players into attack but that left space behind them and, midway through the second half, Claudio Marchisio had the chance to make it 3-0 but shot wide.
Germany were looking ragged and short of ideas until Ozil's penalty prompted a late, desperate onslaught. Marchisio dragged another effort wide and Balotelli's replacement, Antonio Di Natale, had driven his shot against the post.