England can’t keep the ball, can’t finish and are relying on some last-ditch clearances to avoid conceding, but they’re still doing enough to keep themselves in their match against Italy. The Italians have been the superior side through 45 minutes, but the Three Lions are still holding onto a 0-0 draw at halftime.
England Vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Quarterfinals: Halftime Score 0-0 After Entertaining 45 Minutes
Italy have attempted 13 shots, though many of those have been half-hearted long efforts. Some of their best chances won’t be on the box score as shots, though, thanks to some great clearances by the England defense.
The biggest chances of the half came in the very beginning, with one on each end in the opening five minutes. Daniele De Rossi sparked the game to life with a great strike that beat Joe Hart in the 3rd minute, but deflected off the inside of the post and away from the goal. England answered with a chance of their own a minute later, through a great run into the box by Glen Johnson, but he had his shot saved by Gianluigi Buffon.
Things stayed end-to-end for about the first half hour of the match, though Italy had a bit more of the ball. Wayne Rooney had a clear header sail over the bar in the 14th minute, missing a chance that might have been even better than Johnson's. Mario Balotelli had a couple of chances going the other way, but was thwarted twice by England's central defenders. John Terry made an excellent block on a Balotelli shot in the 24th minute and Joleon Lescott cleared a cross into the box in stoppage time that would have resulted in a tap-in goal for Balotelli if it ever reached him.
Roy Hodgson will be thinking about substitutions in the locker room, but he has to be happy with the way his team has performed so far. Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard's positioning in the center has been very good while Danny Welbeck is working hard to keep Andrea Pirlo from running the game. The Juventus regista hasn't been able to create any clear-cut chances for his teammates, and Riccardo Montolivo has taken up a lot of the creative duties as a result. He's been Italy's best player so far, and Hodgson might have to come up with a way to counter him as well.
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