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England were knocked out of Euro 2012 in all too familiar circumstances, losing 4-2 on penalties against Italy following a goalless draw in Kiev.

Riccardo Montolivo missed Italy's second penalty but then Ashley Young and Ashley Cole failed to score before Alessandro Diamanti stroked home the winning spot-kick.

It was England's sixth exit in penalty shoot-outs at European Championships and World Cups in the last 22 years.

Roy Hodgson's side had rode their luck to stay on level terms after 120 minutes as Italy were far the better side with 35 attempts on goal, to England's nine, but failed to break the deadlock thanks to their own profligacy and some dogged English defending.

However their greater nerve from 12 yards means it will be the Azzurri who will face Germany in Thursday's second semi-final at the same ground and Hodgson's side go home.

There were chances aplenty in an open first-half.

The tone was set as early as the fourth minute when the ball was pulled back from the right to Daniele De Rossi who hit across his effort from 30 yards and was so unlucky to see the ball hit the woodwork with Joe Hart beaten.

England's best chance of the opening period came almost immediately when James Milner's square pass was poked towards goal by Glen Johnson from seven yards but Gianluigi Buffon clawed the effort away.

Johnson then produced a superb cross but Wayne Rooney could not direct his diving header on target from eight yards, under pressure from covering right-back Ignazio Abate.

That was after 15 minutes but from then on it was Italy who dominated with Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings in midfield and Mario Balotelli spurned a hat-trick of first-half chances.

He beat the offside trap but dallied which allowed John Terry to get back to make a crucial block and he failed to get much power on a scissors kick after a defence splitting pass from Montolivo.

But his best chance came five minutes before the break when Pirlo's cross to the back post was headed across goal by Antonio Cassano and somehow the Manchester City forward stabbed over the top from four yards albeit under pressure from club-mate Joleon Lescott.

Danny Welbeck did spurn a chance to test Buffon from 18 yards after a good link-up with Rooney but Italy continued to be in the ascendancy and were totally dominant in the second.

De Rossi missed a sitter four minutes after the break after Hart punched a corner only as far as Montolivo whose header was volleyed wide from seven yards by the unmarked veteran.

England's goal continued to lead a charmed life as a 30-yard blast from De Rossi was parried by Hart straight into the path of Balotelli who was denied from close range by the legs of his Eastlands team-mate before Montolivo volleyed over under pressure from Johnson.

Theo Walcott and Andy Carroll were brought on after an hour as England struggled to maintain possession and they carved out a rare chance as the Arsenal winger's cross intended for the big Liverpool striker fell to Young whose shot was deflected behind for a corner.

Hart made a sharp shot from Italian sub Diamanti before Johnson made a superb block after Marchisio's superb pass found another sub Antonio Nocerino.

England did have a chance to steal it in injury-time but Rooney's bicycle kick was over the top.

They failed to create a single chance in extra-time as they spent most of the 30 minutes camped in their own half as Italy continued to pile on the pressure.

Hart was grateful to see Diamanti's mis-hit cross strike the outside of the post and the former West Ham man was off target from 10 yards after Federico Balzaretti fizzed a ball across the area.

Italy finally found the net after 115 minutes when Nocerino headed home from close range but he was correctly ruled offside.

Although Italy have won a World Cup final in a shoot-out they had also lost five of their other six encounters and would have feared the worst when, after Balotelli and Gerrard had scored the opening efforts, Montolivo dragged his effort well past the left post.

Rooney smashed his penalty into the left corner before Pirlo had the audacity to produce a 'Panenka' chip down the middle to level at 2-2.

The disappointing Young then smashed his effort against the crossbar before Nocerino calmly placed his shot into the left corner.

Cole's effort was then saved, low to his left by Buffon, and it was left to Upton Park reject Diamanti to condemn England to their eighth quarter-final defeat in nine attempts at major tournaments away from Wembley.

It was eight years to the day since England were knocked out by Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 and Three Lions fans can add Italy to Argentina, Germany (twice) and Portugal (twice) as nations who have held their nerve to beat their side in shoot-outs.

 
Robin van Persie hit a hat-trick as Arsenal halted their poor recent run with a 7-1 win at home to 10-man Blackburn Rovers.

The Dutchman opened the scoring in the second minute with his 100th career league goal, adding a second to put Arsenal back in front after Rovers had levelled through Morten Gamst Pedersen’s free-kick.

The superb Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain grabbed the first of his two goals, opening his Premier League account just before Gael Givet was shown a straight red card for a reckless lunge on Van Persie.

Mikel Arteta added a fourth for Arsenal early in the second half, while Oxlade-Chamberlain – who along with fellow winger Theo Walcott had been a nightmare for Rovers – made it 5-1 with a cool low finish after his fellow ex-Southampton trainee’s mazy run.

Just after the hour mark Van Persie completed his treble with a blasted finish into the roof of the net, taking his season tally to 22 in the league – more than last season’s top scorers Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez had managed by the end of the campaign.

There was time for an emotional seventh as Thierry Henry came off the bench to score his first Premier League goal in five years.

Arsenal had failed to win any of their previous four Premier League games, and some fans had planned a protest by placing black bin-bags on the customary empty seats at the Emirates.

That failed to materialise and the Gunners responded brilliantly with one of their most incisive displays of the season.

They dominated the first half and took the lead almost immediately as Van Persie tapped in at the far post from Walcott’s lovely low cross.

Walcott’s assist arose from a dreadful clearance by Radosav Petrovic and some shoddy defending by Martin Olsson, a theme that would return to haunt Rovers throughout the match.

Arsenal continued to control the match with Rovers’ only real opportunity a lofted David Dunn ball that Anthony Modest flew in to meet: Wojciech Szczesny got there first and the on-loan French forward was harshly booked for his endeavour.

The hosts, meanwhile, went close through a missed Per Mertesacker header, two blocked Tomas Rosicky shots and a lovely turn and chip from Van Persie that almost caught out Paul Robinson but drifted wide.

So to say Rovers’ equaliser on the half hour was against the run of play would be an understatement: Laurent Koscielny was drawn into a foul on Modeste, for which the Arsenal defender was booked, and Pedersen – not for the first time this season – curled an exquisite free-kick from the edge of the box that Szczesny got a faint touch on but nestled in the top left.

Arsenal responded superbly though and it was 2-1 within seven minutes as, once more, Walcott was given the run of the right by Olsson, who sleepily allowed the England winger to get on to Alex Song’s through-ball: in a carbon-copy of the opener, Walcott slid a low cross in for Van Persie, who gobbled up his 21st league goal of the season with another tap-in.

It was 3-1 soon afterwards as Arsenal started to run rampant: Van Persie was involved again, but provided a wonderful assist as his dancing feet and angled through-ball released Oxlade Chamberlain, who rounded Robinson and finished with aplomb for his first Premier League goal.

Again though poor defending was at play – this time Bradley Orr, a deadline-day signing who came on as a substitute for the injured Jason Lowe, letting Oxlade-Chamberlain through far too easily.

There was time for more drama as Givet was given his marching orders for a rotten challenge on Van Persie, who thankfully was only shaken when the Frenchman launched into a video nasty two-footed scissors-lunge as the pair contested a loose ball.

That pretty much ended the match as a contest and afterwards Arsenal continued to seek revenge for their defeat at Ewood Park earlier this season.

Thomas Vermaelen – enjoying the attacking responsibilities afforded to his full-back role – hit the post from an Arteta cross and early in the second half it was 4-1 as the Spanish midfielder rifled in a low deflected shot after Rovers failed to clear a corner.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s second came almost immediately afterwards, Rovers unable to cope with a Walcott run from the right before the England winger laid it up for the future England winger to control and place a low finish.

On 61 minutes it was six as Van Persie blasted a superb first-time finish into the roof of the net after Francis Coquelin got forward from right-back to place a low cross to the Dutchman.

And, in stoppage time after a stop-start cameo in which he showed an air of class but the occasional rusty touch, Henry exploited a slip from Grant Hanley to exchange passes with Van Persie before knocking in a low finish off Scott Dann’s outstretched leg.