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Spain secured a unique place in football's long history by becoming the first team to win three successive major tournaments when beating Italy 4-0 in the final of Euro 2012 at Kiev's Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

Extending their incredible record of not conceding a goal in knockout football since the 2006 World Cup - a run that now stands at almost 1000 minutes - Spain added to their triumphs at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup with their crowning achievement: a comprehensive victory secured by three wonderfully-constructed goals that were true to the team's trademark style, and a late fourth to ensure the biggest margin of victory ever seen in a final at this tournament.

This was a night when Spain's dominance of international football became more absolute than any team's before them. The much-discussed philosophy of ultra-control, tiki-taka, allowed them to suppress yet another opponent; their intricate and wonderful passing overwhelming an Italian midfield that prior to Sunday night had excelled at Euro 2012, but for the last 30 minutes of this game in Kiev was depleted by an injury to Thiago Motta after all three Italian changes had been made.

Having attracted criticism for rather uninspiring victories over France and Portugal in the knockout stages, this was Spain's riposte: goals from David Silva after 14 minutes and Jordi Alba after 41 minutes were as technically excellent as any seen at the tournament and were vivid vindications of Spain's approach. The closing stages were a procession, Xavi teeing up substitute Fernando Torres with another fine pass for his second assist of the night and Torres then turning provider to square for Chelsea team-mate Juan Mata, who had only been on the pitch for two minutes in his first appearance of the finals.

The pass ensured Torres won the Golden Boot having finished level on goals and assists with Germany's Mario Gomez but having been on the pitch for only 189 minutes in total. The striker's goal in Kiev meant he was the only player to have scored in two separate European Championship finals.

On a night when records fell as regularly as Spain strung together gorgeous passing moves, Iker Casillas became the first player to win 100 international games and Vicente del Bosque became the first coach to win the European Championship, the World Cup and the Champions League. For an Italy side that has been resurgent under the laudable leadership of Cesare Prandelli, though, it was a step too far, a first defeat in competitive internationals against Spain since 1920.

They did lose a penalty shoot-out to Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 though - a result that has been pinpointed by Spain's players as the moment when belief in their nascent ability finally crystallised and a long history of international disappointment began to quickly evolve into a legacy of sustained success, so it was a neat coincidence that the Azzurri again provided the opposition as Spain reached previously unscaled heights.

Spain's only change from the semi-final shoot-out win over Portugal was entirely expected, Cesc Fabregas replacing Alvaro Negredo in attack to perform the false nine role that has given such ammunition to Spain's growing number of critics. Designed to help enhance those possession statistics and keep the ball away from Andrea Pirlo, it was ostensibly a cautious strategy from Del Bosque.

Italy made a change of their own, the returning Ignazio Abate slotting in at right-back as Federico Balzaretti was dropped, Giorgio Chiellini being a more defensive option at left-back with Prandelli also unwilling to break up the central partnership of Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci. There was no return to the 3-5-2 formation that Italy deployed in their opening group game when drawing 1-1 with Spain in Gdansk.

However, Chiellini was exposed for the opening goal after 14 minutes as Spain were rewarded for an enterprising start that belied accusations that their brand of football has become unalterably boring. While Italy looked to target the rump of the Spain side with balls over the top to Mario Balotelli, Del Bosque's side once again demonstrated that their strength lies in their torso as Xavi and Andres Iniesta took control through the centre.

Xavi, who conceded prior to the game that he has not been at his peak level during the tournament, looked to have taken personal affront to negative critiques of himself and his side and unusually let fly with a couple of shots from range. The second flew narrowly over following a neat one-two with Fabregas.

It was a fluid start from Spain and they capitalised inside 15 minutes with a goal of utter brilliance. Iniesta took possession of the ball 25 yards from goal and opened up the Italy defence with a perfect through-ball for Fabregas. The false nine hit the byline and pulled a fine cross back for Silva, who timed his run excellently and from eight yards out directed his header inside the far post.

If Spain were determined to prove a point, it had been driven home forcefully. Yet Italy's response to going behind for the first time in the tournament was not to cower, but to try and wrest control back. Daniele De Rossi was instrumental with a forceful 20 minutes and, having seen Chiellini taken off with an injury, replacement Federico Balzaretti also provided real impetus down the left.

De Rossi robbed Xavi of possession on one occasion and pinged a pass out to Antonio Cassano. The forward made a smart turn before rolling in a low shot that Casillas saved, and later took the ball from Pirlo before seeing another effort beaten away by the Spain captain. Remarkably Italy had the better of possession in the first half, but they could not find an equaliser.

Four minutes before half time Spain extended their advantage. Alba played the ball square to Xavi and accelerated through the centre of the pitch with a brilliant run to receive the return pass. His first touch to control was exquisite, his second surgical as he placed his shot past Buffon. It was just reward for a player, destined to join Barcelona, who has been consistently excellent throughout the tournament.

Italy reacted at half time by sacrificing Cassano for Antonio Di Natale and the Udinese striker made an immediate impact. Within a minute he had headed over the bar from an Abate cross and, after Spain had a claim for a penalty turned down when a header from Sergio Ramos struck the arm of Bonucci, he should really have put Italy back into contention.

Riccardo Montolivo played a fine pass through to the striker, who appeared to be straying offside, and his low effort was blocked by a fine save from Casillas. The rebound popped out to Di Natale but his attempted pass was also cut out by the Spain captain.

Montolivo was swiftly removed for Motta though and Prandelli's rather reckless decision to make all three substitutions before the hour mark was punished accordingly when Motta suffered a hamstring injury after 61 minutes and was taken off on a stretcher to leave his side facing the might of Spain with only 10 players.

Ruthless in their pursuit of history, Spain exploited their advantage to the full. Having been summoned from the bench, Torres collected a fine pass from Xavi and slotted the ball past Buffon to make it three after 84 minutes. Within four minutes he had unselfishly squared for Mata who marked two minutes of tournament football with a goal of his own.

There was still time for Ramos to saunter up to the penalty area and try and score a backheel as Spain finished in rampant style, leaving their place in football's history books unassailable. Italy, suffering a first competitive defeat under Prandelli, could not fight against a Spanish tide that has had unstoppable momentum ever since that penalty shoot-out win in 2008.

After Spain's third triumph in as many major tournaments the only remaining question is whether they are the greatest of all time. The manner of their triumph in Kiev would suggest an answer in the affirmative.

Mario Balotelli was the star for Italy as he scored twice in a 2-1 win over Germany in their Euro 2012 semi-final at the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw.

The mercurial Manchester City striker doubled his international goal tally with two first-half strikes that eliminated the joint-favourites for the title and booked his own side’s place in the final against Spain in Kiev on Sunday.

Mesut Ozil pulled one goal back from the penalty spot in the second minute of injury time, but it was too late for Germany to complete a comeback and salvage their hopes of winning a first tournament since 1996.

The victory extends Italy’s unbeaten record against Germany in competitive games to eight matches, and it was a performance fit to sit alongside some of the other classic instalments of this fixture between Europe’s two most successful teams.

Reaching the final is made all the more remarkable for Italy when taking into account that they finished bottom of their group at the last World Cup below Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand.

The evening began in nervy manner for the Azzurri. In the first 15 minutes Andrea Pirlo had to clear Mats Hummels’s instinctive effort from a corner off the line and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon spilled a low strike from Toni Kroos that rebounded off Andrea Barzagli and trickled wide of the goal.

Gradually Cesare Prandelli’s side became more enterprising. Antonio Cassano and the half-German Riccardo Montolivo both tested Manuel Neuer from range, but it was Balotelli who broke the deadlock with 20 minutes played.

Cassano managed to roll his way through two Germany players on the left wing after good build-up from Pirlo and Giorgio Chiellini and his dinked cross was headed past Neuer by Balotelli, who celebrated in uncharacteristically joyful fashion. That goal, only the striker’s third senior international strike for his country, was Italy’s first ever in a European Championship semi-final.

Germany responded well after going behind for the first time in a competitive game since their third place play-off at the 2010 World Cup. Ozil’s attempt to pass the ball past Buffon from 20 yards was unsuccessful, before Lukas Podolski was only denied a free shot at goal by an excellent tackle from Federico Balzaretti.

Sami Khedira connected well with his half-volley from range and Buffon conceded a corner from his save, but it was from that Germany set piece that Italy broke to score the killer second.

After defending and clearing the set piece, Montolivo sent Balotelli away with a pinpoint ball over the top. The striker’s control set the ball up perfectly for him to fire an unerring strike into the top corner just as Philipp Lahm made a despairing lunge in vain.

Balotelli was booked for removing his shirt in another celebratory outpouring of emotion, but nothing could dampen his or Italy’s spirits at that moment.

Germany made significant changes at the break, introducing Miroslav Klose and Marco Reus in place of Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski. Reus made an immediate impact, having a shot saved before playing his part in the move which culminated with Lahm firing over the bar.

Prandelli methodically made substitutions at regular intervals throughout the second half, including removing the indefatigable Montolivo, and by the 70th minute both sides had made all three of their allotted changes.

As Germany pushed harder for a goal that would get them back into the game, the game really began to open up. Reus forced a good save from Buffon with a wickedly dipping free-kick soon after Balotelli had fired low across the face of goal. Claudio Marchisio spurned two great chances to give Italy an unassailable 3-0 lead, while Balzaretti denied Reus a clear shot at goal with a wonderfully-timed tackle that he celebrated as though he had scored at the other end.

However, Balzaretti was culpable for giving away a spot-kick that gave Germany just a sliver of hope after he handled inside the area. Buffon guessed the right way from Ozil’s kick, but the playmaker’s shot was hit out of his reach.

It proved to be too little, too late for Germany, and even Neuer’s repeated forays forward for set pieces were not enough to avert yet another defeat to their bogey team.

Goals from Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli sent Italy into the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 with a 2-0 win against Republic of Ireland at Stadion Miejski in Poznan.

Cassano headed home from an Andrea Pirlo corner on 35 minutes, before Balotelli volleyed a brilliant second on 90 minutes.

The Azzurri qualified second from Group C after Spain beat Croatia 1-0 in the other Group C match. There was a nervous wait at the end as the final seconds ticked down in Gdansk, where a Croatian equaliser would have sent Italy home.

Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland produced their best performance of the tournament, but were still well beaten and exit the tournament with three defeats from as many games. Keith Andrews was sent off late on, picking up a second yellow card for dissent.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli made a radical tactical shift, abandoning his three-man defence and reverting to a more familiar back four - thereby returning Daniele De Rossi to his preferred midfield station.

Balotelli, still nursing a minor ankle injury, was left on the bench and his replacement Antonio Di Natale had a fine game, linking instinctively with Cassano and looking a constant goal threat.

Trapattoni made a single change, restoring Kevin Doyle at Simon Cox's expense, while making Damien Duff captain to mark his 100th cap.

Despite enduring a miserable tournament on the pitch, the Irish fans were in terrific voice, belting out both nations' anthems and frequently indulging in a geographically accurate version of 'the Poznan'.

And early on, the boys in green fared showed signs of the fine form that saw them qualify in the first place.

Doyle seized on an errant Andrea Pirlo pass and nearly got a shot away, while the Italian box was bombarded with balls in from the flanks.

But Italy established a foothold and became increasingly dominant as the first half progressed.

Cassano crossed low for Di Natale whose low shot was charged down by Richard Dunne, before Sean St Ledger's block of a Di Natale shot brought fervent - though unsuccessful - penalty appeals.

Italy won a cheap corner after Shay Given spilled a Cassano shot, and the Azzurri duly took the lead. Cassano glanced Pirlo's delivery goalwards, Given made half a save and Duff hooked it away from his position on the far post.

However, the officials rightly adjudged the ball to have crossed the line.

That goal moved Italy provisionally top of the group, but they knew events in the other Group C match in Gdansk could take matters out of their hands.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first, as Cassano and Di Natale were denied by some heroic Irish blocks. Di Natale went off on 75 minutes having racked up seven shots, six on target.

Italy suffered a potentially crucial injury when their best defender Giorgio Chiellini went down just before the hour mark - the Italians' body language suggested the Juventus man will not play again in this tournament.

Ireland threatened to break Italian hearts as the second half went on and the Azzurri became nervous. Countless set piece chances came and went, while Andrews tested Gianluigi Buffon with a long shot.

It took the substitute Balotelli to put the result beyond doubt. He met a corner from the Italian right with a sweetly-struck volley on the turn, and Given had no chance.

Balotelli dusted off his customary no-celebration celebration, and Leandro Bonucci put his hand over the striker's mouth as he unleashed a tirade of abuse at someone or something.

As news of the Croatian defeat came through, Italian celebrations began in earnest and they can look forward to a last-eight tie against the winners of Group D - France, England or Ukraine.

Italy and Croatia must wait until the final round of Group C matches to learn their Euro 2012 fate after a 1-1 draw at Poznan's Stadion Miejski.

Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo gave Italy the lead on 39 minutes after a spell of dominant play when he swept a delightful free-kick over the Croatian wall and into the net with goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa beaten low to his right-hand post.

Croatia emerged a lot brighter in the second period and earned a merited point when Mario Mandzukic controlled Ivan Strinic's cross on 72 minutes and smashed the ball high into the goal from close range after central defender Giorgio Chiellini somehow missed the high ball in the heart of his box.

It was Mandzukic's third goal of the finals and leaves him alongside Mario Gomez of Germany and Russia's Alan Dzagoev as the top goalscorer at the tournament.

Croatia top Group C with four points from two games while Italy have two points after two draws, but the Italians will be quietly confident of progressing to the quarter-finals.

If world champions Spain win their final two games of the section against Republic of Ireland tonight and Croatia on Monday, they would go through as group winners with Italy needing a win over Republic of Ireland in their final match to join them.

Croatia remain unbeaten in all four competitive matches against Italy: 2-1 at 2002 World Cup, 2-1 and 1-1 in qualifying for Euro 1996 and now 1-1 at Euro 2012.

Italy have also failed to win any of their past six matches at the European and World Cup finals, but they will not be too displeased with their form having followed up a 1-1 draw against Spain with a diligent performance against a dangerous Croatia side.

Italy certainly enjoyed the better moments in the first period, starting when Mario Balotelli swivelled in the box to slip a shot wide of goal on three minutes before Antonio Cassano screwed an effort past a post ten minutes before half-time.

Pirlo scored the first goal direct from a free-kick at the European Championship finals since 2004 when he struck moments before half-time after Pletikosa made a commendable double save to keep out Claudio Marchisio.

The second period was disrupted by a series of silly fouls while Croatian fans sporadically interrupted the play by throwing on flares, but Croatia - convincing 3-1 winners over Ireland on Sunday evening - were good for their equaliser when it came.

The one worrying incident for manager Slaven Bilic - who departs his post to take over Lokomotiv Moscow after these finals - was the sight of Mandzukic being forced off injured in stoppage time after a strong challenge involving Chiellini.

Croatia will need all of their assets close at hand when they are confronting a Spanish side who will need a win from that match to continue their defence of the tournament they won in 2008.

Italy and Croatia must wait until the final round of Group C matches to learn their Euro 2012 fate after a 1-1 draw in Poznan.