Balotelli's two goals lift Italy past Germany

WARSAW -- Mario Balotelli flexed his muscles in more ways than one.

The 21-year-old striker quieted his critics by leading Italy to an unexpected spot in the European Championship final, scoring twice in the first half in a 2-1 victory over Germany last night.

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.

"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 wasn't 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, Balotelli received the ball behind the defense and blasted a long shot into the top right corner. With three goals, Balotelli is tied for the tournament lead.

Mesut Oezil scored a consolation penalty in injury time after a hand ball by Federico Balzaretti, but Germany's winless streak against Italy in major tournaments reached eight matches. Germany entered the game on a world-record 15-match winning streak in competitive matches. While Italy has won four World Cups, its only European Championship title came in 1968.

The final in Kiev, Ukraine, will be a rematch of Italy and Spain's 1-1 draw that opened Group C. "We showed we're on Spain's level and that's where we started this run," Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio said. "It's no longer a question of fear. Now we've got to pull out everything we still have inside ourselves."