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WARSAW, Poland -- Mario Balotelli flexed his muscles in more ways than one. The 21-year-old Italy striker quieted his multitude of critics by delivering Italy to an unexpected spot in the European Championship final. Having been severely criticized for failing to take advantage of his opportunities earlier in the tournament, Balotelli scored twice in the first half Thursday to give Italy a 2-1 win over Germany. After his second goal, Balotelli stripped off his jersey and flexed his muscles in a defiant pose -- even if that meant an automatic yellow card. For someone whose behaviour often treads on the verge of craziness, it was an emblematic moment. "This is the greatest night of my life, but I hope Sunday is going to be even better," Balotelli said, looking ahead to the final against defending champion Spain. "In the opening matches I had a lot of chances, and I wasnt able to finish them. But In football you also need luck." In the 20th minute, Balotelli had no trouble getting past Holger Badstuber to head in a pinpoint cross from Antonio Cassano. Then in the 36th, he received the ball behind the defence and blasted a long shot into the top right corner. With three goals, Balotelli moved level with four other players for the tournament scoring lead. After the match, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli was asked if this was the best match of Balotellis career. "Balotellis career has just started," Prandelli said. Meanwhile, Germany extended its winless streak against Italy in major tournaments to eight matches. The Germans failed to trouble Italy for much of the match, although Mesut Oezil scored a consolation penalty in injury time after Federico Balzaretti was whistled for a handball. Germany had entered the game on a world record 15-match winning streak in competitive matches. "Its a very bitter defeat," Germany captain Philipp Lahm said. "We tried everything in the second half but our goal came too late. We have so much potential in our team but if we cannot give the right performance at the right time or are not clever enough, then we lose such a game." The final in Kyiv, Ukraine, will be a rematch of Italy and Spains 1-1 draw that opened Group C. "We showed were on Spains level and thats where we started this run," Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio said. "Its no longer a question of fear. Now weve got to pull out everything we still have inside ourselves." While Italy has won four World Cups, its only European Championship title came in 1968. Like when they won the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, the Azzurri have managed to maintain their focus despite a match-fixing and betting scandal at home. "All I can say is that when you talk about Italy, everyone needs to be careful," Prandelli said. "We played an extraordinary match. We displayed a model of fair play and attachment to this shirt." On a pleasant evening at the National Stadium Warsaw, Cassano set up the opening goal by befuddling Germany defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng to lift the ball in Balotellis direction. The second goal began with a long vertical pass from Riccardo Montolivo, whose mother is German. Balotelli collected the pass with his back to the goal, controlled the ball with his chest and then sprinted forward and unleashed a blazing shot from the edge of the area as Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer again stood immobile. "We did what we had thought would put them in trouble," Prandelli said. "We played centrally and looked for one-on-one opportunities with Cassano." Even before scoring, Italy controlled the pace of the match, although Germany did have several chances from Hummels, Toni Kroos and Oezil. In the 35th, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon preserved the Azzurri lead by swatting away a long shot from Sami Khedira -- and Balotelli doubled the lead a minute later. To start the second half, Germany coach Joachim Loew brought on Miroslav Klose for Mario Gomez at centre forward and replaced Lukas Podolski with Marco Reus on the wing. With Germany appearing slightly more organized, Lahm had a great look at the goal in the 49th but shot way over the bar. "If we had scored earlier, there could have been more for us," Loew said. "The disappointment is great. Nobody is speaking in the dressing room. The players are crying. ... But I am not going to question everything weve done. This team has great quality. It will continue to develop and learn." Buffon made another impressive save in the 62nd, leaping to push a free kick from Reus off the bar. While Italy largely sat back and protected its lead in the second half, the Azzurri did produce some dangerous counterattacks. Marchisio shot just wide in the 67th and 75th and substitute Antonio Di Natale missed another chance in the 82nd. Di Natale came on in the 70th after Balotelli went down with a cramp to his left leg. White-clad German fans greatly outnumbered Italian supporters, unveiling a huge banner before kickoff that featured a giant "G" for Germany. However, most of the stadium was filled with Polish fans who supported Italy. They had plenty to cheer about. "Were living a dream along with millions of Italians," Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini said. "Were going to enjoy this victory a little longer, then well think about Sunday, because we want to continue dreaming." <a href="http://www.customnflstore.com/Customized-Denver-Broncos/">Custom Broncos Jersey</a>. The last one cleared the veterans troubled mind. 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I thought we battled hard and I know we left everything we had out there on the ice." Still, the Marlies did own a two-goal lead until late in the middle frame, leaving veteran defenceman Mike Kostka somewhat sour with the final result afterward. "Im not happy about it at all," he said with a bitter laugh. "Yeah you can pat ourselves on the back and say good effort but divisional game, those are big points; they go a long way at the end of the year. It might be game five, but I dont think there should be any sense of satisfaction out of just getting one point." Kostka wasnt suggesting a lack of effort, but only a necessary clampdown in a close game at home. "We worked," Kostka continued. "We worked, we really did. Theres just got to be that extra little bit of desperation to make sure you dont blow a two-goal lead on Sunday afternoon in a three in three…Im not saying we gave up or anything like that. It just cant be acceptable. Two-goal lead, youve got to learn just to shut it right down." 2. The Marlies have owned the American Leagues top penalty kill in each of the past two seasons, but have started slowly with a few new pieces in the mix this season. On Sunday, they allowed two power-play goals to the Griffins, falling to 78% (18-23) on the season. For all their early struggles though, the special teams unit did come up huge in the final stages of the afternoon tilt, halting the Griffins on a powerplay late in the third period (which included a brief five-on-three) before stopping them again during a minute and a half stretch of four-on-three in overtime. "Once again were trying some new guys in there and its part of the process," said Eakins. "Theres some stuff there, some real good teaching video and some stuff that we can go over next week. And like always mistakes turn into positives; it turns into a great teaching tool and well get those covered off and get things going again like weve had in the past couple years." Carter Ashton and Leo Komarov are among the new recruits on the Marlies penalty kill this season. Korbinian&nbbsp;Holzer, who scored his first goal of the season in defeat, observed some hesitation to what is normally an extremely aggressive group.dddddddddddd "As soon as we implement that in our heads again I think the PK is going to be absolutely fine," he said. 3. Sundays action at Ricoh was not without some controversy. Late in the final frame with the score knotted at threes, Griffins defenceman Brian Lashoff swiftly stuck out the left side (part knee, part hip) of his body toward the knee of Nazem Kadri, who immediately went down in a heap in the neutral zone. A scrum ensued with Kadri, Mark Fraser and others from both sides in the mix. When the rubble cleared, it was Kadri getting an extra penalty for roughing (handing the Griffins a late-game power-play), Lashoff unscathed from punishment. Kadri looked for an explanation on the call, but didnt get one. "I tried to get one," he said emphatically. "I tried to talk to [the ref] and he just kind of gave me the hand to the face. I tried to get an explanation. I really wasnt sure what I did." "I thought that was a dangerous hit number one with a leg being out," said Eakins of the Lashoff hit. "And how [Kadri] ends up in the penalty box Im not quite sure. I got an explanation, but I just feel sometimes Im not watching the same game the refs are. They have a tough job, things happen quickly, but him going to the box and us being short there was very strange to me." 4. Kadri has only two assists through the opening five games, but his obvious skill has been on frequent display despite the early point spell. "I dont think Naz gets really affected by that," said Eakins. "Hes such a competitive kid and the thing I love about Nazem hes got such swagger, hes a little cocky out there and I think youve got to be that way to be a successful player. I dont think he ever squeezes his stick too hard. He is going to be rewarded. He is doing everything were asking of him right now on the ice, off the ice and as long hes getting his chances eventually the math part of it just looks after itself." 5. Joe Colborne endured a 31-game goal drought last season, anxious to dispel those memories this season. The 22-year-old had only a point after four games, but picked up two assists in the Sunday defeat, setting up Komarov for his first with the Marlies before dishing off to Holzer for the 3-1 lead. "I was happy today to see Joe get a couple of points," said Eakins. "I dont want him to revert to the thinking from last year when he was in such a hole." Next Game: Friday at Hamilton ' ' '
