How Italy restored credibility on world stage with resilient Euro 2016 display

In the end, the Italians - three weeks ago the unfancied, the discarded, and the written-off - took the defending world champion all the way to the brink. They were one penalty away from eliminating the Germans - the favoured, the accomplished, the juggernaut - from a tournament everyone thought they'd win.

"Regrets can arrive when you feel you didn't give everything," said Gianluigi Buffon, "but that's not the case. We were a step away from a great feat."

Matteo Darmian, shooting ninth for Italy in penalties, missed his spot-kick and made way for Jonas Hector to seal a semi-final berth for Germany at Euro 2016 on Saturday.

Related: Germany outlasts Italy in penalties, breaks hoodoo to reach Euro 2016 semis

The overwhelming feeling for Germany was relief. Finally it had beaten its arch-nemesis in a competitive match.

On the other side, the feeling was devastation - an odd sensation for this particular team to experience because it's one borne only of expectations, and not many had any for Italy. It means that Italy, at one point over the course of these three hours, reasonably expected to beat Germany. Imagine that: the worst Italian side in a generation armed with considerable and real hopes of toppling the best German side in a generation.

Slowly, Euro 2016 became an exercise in honour for Antonio Conte's men. They turned the cliches and the labels inside out. They relied on the hard and true rule that hard work beats talent if the talent isn't there.

"We tried and were able to make the fans proud of us," said Conte, who will now switch his focus to club football with Chelsea. "We made the players truly aware that it's a privilege to wear the shirt."

The pieces that came together to stir these emotions in Italian supporters were hardly names that, by themselves, inspired confidence. Defender Mattia De Sciglio came close to depression. Midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini couldn't get a game at Sunderland. Forward Eder had scored only three times before in 2016.

But Conte worked his magic, and turned doubters into believers.

Criticism of his omissions divide the country. Despite finishing unbeaten, Conte's Italy looked tired and disinterested through qualifying. Then injuries happened, and Conte famously left standout Napoli midfielder Jorginho - the only obvious replacement for the injured Marco Verratti - at home. It appeared Conte had his favourites. The feeling was that Italy didn't have enough quality to overlook the likes of Jorginho, and yet here was Conte, eschewing talent for players who merely fit his system.

But that's exactly why Italy succeeded.

The win against Belgium demonstrated Conte's resolve and utter belief in his players. They moved like a unit, pressed the Red Devils, and forced them to make a quick decision. From a bird's-eye view, it looked like a colony working together, shifting one way and another as Belgium probed for an opening.

Italy wasn't strictly defensive, although that was its clear strength. Conte dared his team to push up and go for the goal. The Azzurri finished first in Group E, took the game right to Spain in the Round of 16, and ran more than anyone else in the tournament. Conte had his players in shape, even after a grueling club campaign - one which forced him to scrap a midseason training camp for his internationals.

Germany manager Joachim Low had almost a week to study the Italians, the next quarter-final opponent, and in the greatest expression of respect for Italy, he changed his system. The four-time World Cup champion was something to fear again.

Low went to a back three in the hopes that Germany could strike the right balance against Italy, sacrificing an attacking player (Julian Draxler) for more width.

The fixture played out like a chess match. Germany couldn't find a way through the Italian defence, certainly, but it also didn't look like the Germany that won in Brazil. It failed on set pieces, it struggled to keep the ball in the attacking third, and it completed its lowest percentage of passes in the opposition half at Euro 2016.

The game opened up in the second stanza, and Italy had no choice but to retreat to its bunker. Without the suspended Thiago Motta and ailing Daniele De Rossi, this team had no link between the defence and the attack. The disparity in talent finally showed.

But it was a goal off a deflection - not an artful cross or a defence-splitting pass - that led to Mesut Ozil's opener. Germany couldn't be so calculated against Italy.

A rare spot-kick from Leonardo Bonucci - who had never hit an in-game penalty before in his professional life - gave his resilient teammates another chance.

Italy wouldn't die. Divided and written off three weeks ago, Italy became a proud football nation again.

"To have a hardworking and united group is our greatest victory," said Buffon, who will return to play in the 2018 World Cup. "It paves the way for future successes."