England have crashed out of Euro 2012 on penalties to Italy - the sixth defeat in their last ten shootouts.
After a 0-0 draw at the end of extra time in Kiev, the Italians held their nerve to progress to a semi-final against Germany.
Ashley Young and Ashley Cole missed crucial penalties for England, cancelling out Riccardo Montolivo's earlier miss for Italy. Young hit the bar while Cole's tame effort was saved by Gianluigi Buffon. Mario Balotelli, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Andrea Pirlo and Antonio Nocorino all scored their kicks - leaving Alessandro Diamanti to score the winner past Joe Hart to the delight of the Italian supporters.
The 0-0 score line at the end of normal time disguised numerous chances for both sides.
Italy nearly took the lead within three minutes when Daniele Di Rossi swerved a long-range shot that rebounded off the post.
Mario Balotelli went close on 32 minutes while Glen Johnson, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck had the best of England's first half chances.
Italy began to dominate early in the second half with Di Rossi, Balotelli and Riccardo Montolivo all missing from close range.
It took England until the 65th minute to create a chance after the break - Ashley Young hitting wide.
Glen Johnson, in an impressive performance, crucially blocked Antonio Nocorino's shot late on before Rooney, set up by an Andy Carroll header, bicycle kicked over the bar as the game headed to extra time.
Alessandro Diamanti went closest in the first half of extra time when he hit Joe Hart's far post but both sides displayed signs of tiredness as they played out the draw.
England have not reached a semi-final of a major tournament since 1996. Roy Hodgson's men will return to analyse what went wrong against Italy after a tournament in which they initially defied low expectations.
