Daniele De Rossi hails 'crazy' Andrea Pirlo

Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi has heaped praise on teammate Andrea Pirlo as they advanced to the semi-finals of Euro 2012.

The Azzurri progressed from the last eight after a penalty shootout victory over England following a goalless 120 minutes.

Pirlo scored the penalty of the tie as he cooly chipped past Joe Hart down the middle of the goal, and De Rossi says that the spot-kick brought back memories from Euro 2000.

"It's one of those nights that remain with you forever. It reminds me of Francesco Totti against Holland 12 years ago when Pirlo scored that crazy penalty," said De Rossi.

"We did expect this sort of performance, as England have good players, but they do set out in a very defensive way.

Italy now face Germany in the semi-finals of the tournament on Thursday.