This wasn't supposed to happen. Alvaro Morata's quest for redemption ended in bitter heartbreak as the 28-year-old striker missed Spain's crucial fourth penalty in the shootout. He could only watch helplessly as Jorginho converted the decisive kick to send Italy into the Euro 2020 final. 

The excruciating Wembley loss on Tuesday night marks the first time Spain have failed to progress from a semi-final at a major tournament in their history, having reached the final from each of their previous five semi-final appearances.  

Morata could have become Spain's national hero after a difficult start to the tournament. He has wasted numerous chances during the group stages, with his family having to endure death threats from fans. But his wonder strike against Croatia in the last-16 saved Luis Enrique's side and largely swung public opinion in his favor.

Against Italy, Morata again stepped up to the plate when Federico Chiesa's curling finish stunned a tense Spanish side. He came off the bench and capped a perfect combination with Dani Olmo with a cool finish, temporarily keeping Spain's Euros hopes alive. 

It was Morata's sixth goal at the Euros and it meant he has scored more goals at the tournament than any other Spain player, overtaking Fernando Torres' five goals. And according to OPTA, he was also the second player to score three or more goals in multiple Euros. Meanwhile, he is the first ever Spanish player to score for both club and country at Wembley Stadium.  

However, all the admirable efforts to prove his doubters wrong came to naught after he disastrously fluffed his lines in the shootout. All the abuses and boos might come back to haunt him. He might even begin to doubt himself: what if he is doomed to fail for the rest of his life?

Fortunately, he could still count on the unwavering support from Enrique, who once responded to Morata's critics that he would play "Morata and 10 others."

"Morata has an abductor issue. It says a lot about his personality that, despite that, he wanted to take a penalty," the Spain head coach revealed to reporters after the game.  

"He has gone through some tough times during this competition but he was brilliant, he created a lot of uncertainty in the Italian ranks, he scored, he was excellent. I haven't been able to see him because he went to doping control but I will go and see him now." 

Enrique insisted Morata and his fellow Spanish players should leave the pitch with their heads held high. "It's not a sad night for me, not at all. Of course there is disappointment, but that's football. You have to be able to win and lose. We were very pleased to win the shootout in the quarter-finals but we have to congratulate our opponents." 

"I'd say it would be an A- for my players, an A+ if we'd won. We've been speaking about how we'd like to play at the Euros for many months, and the players bought into it, so I have no complaints. We've shown we're a team and we're going to continue doing that," he concluded.

Enrique had nothing but pride in his players, Spain captain Sergio Busquets remained defiant after the loss. "Everyone made Italy big favorites here, but we demonstrated that we were superior to them," he insisted.  

"We imposed the things we wanted to here: owning the ball, winning it back as quickly as possible when we lost it. In general across this match, I think we were the dominant side. But football's like this, and all we can do is congratulate Italy. 

"There's a year-and-a-half until the next World Cup but we are on the right road, for sure. This is a great national team and the only thing missing was getting to the final, as we were determined to." 

For Morata and Spain, the shootout wounds in the semi-final will take a long time to heal.  

For Italy and their seasoned manager Roberto Mancini, either England or Denmark will await them in the Euro 2020 final.  

The Azzurri had won all their previous 13 games and deserved a chance to clinch the ultimate triumph.  

For emotionally charged fans, another epic encounter will be in store.