Germany reached the UEFA Nations League finals for the first time after a thrilling quarter-final decider in Dortmund, holding off an Italy side who recovered from 3-0 down at half-time in the second period.

Key moments

30′ Kimmich converts emphatic penalty

36′ Donnarumma brilliantly denies Kleindienst

36′ Musiala pounces from quickly taken corner

45′ Kleindienst powers in header

49′ Kean replies for Italy from outside box

69′ Azzurri forward fires in second

90+5′ Raspadori places penalty past Baumann

Match in brief: First-half flurry sends Germany through

Joshua Kimmich set up both of Germany’s goals in the first leg and, after an end-to-end start to the return game, the hosts’ captain increased his side’s advantage from the spot when Alessandro Buongiorno was adjudged to have impeded towering forward Tim Kleindienst.

A scorer with his first touch as a half-time substitute in Milan, Kleindienst was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma shortly after the opener, only for Kimmich’s quick thinking to find Jamal Musiala unmarked from the resulting corner, allowing the No10 to slot in at the near post.

Tim Kleindienst’s header put Germany 5-1 ahead on aggregate at half-time in the second legUEFA via Getty Images

Another brilliant save from Donnarumma was not enough to stop Kleindienst’s close-range header from then crossing the line for his second goal of the tie on the stroke of half-time, but Italy were in no mood to pass up the chance of a third consecutive appearance in the finals.

Moise Kean seized possession and the chance to reduce the arrears by blasting in four minutes after the restart, and the Fiorentina striker added a second as part of a spirited comeback attempt by the visitors, teasing Jonathan Tah inside the box before firing in.

After Kleindienst was penalised for handball, Giacomo Raspadori placed a 95th-minute penalty past Oliver Baumann to put Italy within sight of a remarkable recovery act.

There was still time for the Azzurri to force their hosts to defend successive crosses, but Julian Nagelsmann’s side saw out a classic, booking their place in the final four and ensuring they will host the showpiece.

As it happened: Germany 3-3 Italy

James Thorogood, match reporter

The contest became nervier than they would have liked in the second half but, for the first time, Germany will feature in the Nations League final four. The two performances against Italy underlined just how far this side have come under Nagelsmann. They’ll have a magnificent opportunity to win silverware on home soil in June.

Reaction

Julian Nagelsmann, Germany manager: “The first half was very impressive – incredibly good, the best of my tenure. But there are moments when you do concede goals. The big difference was that, in the second half, we played almost exclusively backwards and through the middle.”

Antonio Rüdiger, Germany defender: “The first-half performance was dominant; we brought everything you’d expect to a game like this. In the second half, we played the ball backward more often. Then the distances became much longer. We made it difficult for ourselves. We’re on the right track; the second half has to be a learning process for us.”

Tim Kleindienst, Germany forward: “The first half was outstanding. We won the ball back a lot and we deserved to score so many goals. But in the second half we didn’t press. Everyone is looking forward to the finals; in the end, all that matters is advancing.”

Moise Kean scored twice within 21 second-half minutes to help Italy threaten to draw level on aggregateGetty Images for DFB

Luciano Spalletti, Italy manager: “Clearly, in the first half we weren’t determined enough to play football and give the team the chance to express itself, individually or collectively. Then we recognised with our conscience that we had to do more and we saw the Italy that everyone expects. We had some words in the locker room at half-time and saw what we had wanted.”

Giacomo Raspadori, Italy forward: “There is huge disappointment because scoring three goals here and not bringing home the victory or forcing extra time is incredible. We were below par, both in terms of character and determination. We should have been more united and it wasn’t easy to stay sharp. We reacted in the best way after the break.”

Moise Kean, Italy forward: “It was important to show a different attitude. We could have done better in the first half, but the important thing was to fight back after the break. [The first half] wasn’t easy, because Germany are an excellent team. We tried to give our best; they found spaces and managed to attack us better. We needed to play with a different spirit – we achieved that and wanted to bring home the result. Next time will be better.”

Key stats

• Joshua Kimmich was directly involved in all five of his country’s goals in the tie (one goal and four assists). He made three of those in contributions in this game – only the second time he has done so in his 99 Germany appearances.
• Excluding penalty shoot-outs, Germany have not lost any of their last eight international matches against Italy (W4 D4).
• Die Mannschaft are unbeaten in their last nine games in this competition (W5 D4).
• They have scored in 20 of their last 22 Nations League matches, with only one of their last 12 at home ending in defeat (W5 D6).
• This was the first time in their last 11 Nations League matches that Italy did not score before half-time.
• The Azzurri have scored in 20 of their last 21 Nations League matches.

Line-ups

Germany: Baumann; Rüdiger (Bisseck 77), Tah, Schlotterbeck; Kimmich, Stiller (Gross 63), Goretzka (Amiri 63), Mittelstädt; Sané (Adeyemi 63), Musiala (Andrich 77); Kleindienst

Italy: Donnarumma; Gatti (Politano 46), Buongiorno, Bastoni; Di Lorenzo, Barella, Ricci (Zaccagni 85), Tonali (Raspadori 68), Udogie; Kean (Lucca 85), Maldini (Frattesi 46)

What’s next?

Germany advance to the semi-finals, where they face Portugal in Munich on Wednesday 4 June. The winner contests the final four days later against Spain or France.