Who could have dreamed up in their worst nightmares that the oranje carnival would be halted in its tracks by five penalty misses, two of them by the same player?

Yet, as Holland's national fear of the penalty rose up from deep within their collective psyche to claim them as victims again, and Italy escaped the feeling that had haunted them for a generation to reach Sunday's final against France in Rotterdam, tribute had to be paid.

Euro 2000 might have been all about the teams who went forward, but last night in the Amsterdam Arena one of the finest defensive displays ever seen in a major tournament sent the host nation into mourning.

It was the cruellest of exits for Holland, who had dominated throughout, and the most desperate way for Dennis Bergkamp's international career to finish.

His team hit the woodwork twice and missed a stackful of other opportunities, even excluding the misses from 12 yards by Frank De Boer and Patrick Kluivert.

Yet somehow, even when Gianluca Zambrotta was sent off for two fouls on Boudewijn Zenden in the first half, Dino Zoff's Azzurri blanket found the courage and commitment to snuff out the most colourful side in the tournament.

With wave after remorseless wave of Dutch attacks coming towards them, before and after Zambrotta's red card, everything suggested that something had to give.

Yet, the astonishing resilience of the imperious Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini and Fabio Cannavaro, and the athleticism of Francesco Toldo, somehow kept the Dutch out, to lead to the remarkable and heart-breaking denouement.

When the Fiorentina goalkeeper plunged to his right to turn aside Paul Bosvelt's do-or-die kick, there was no way back for the Dutch, who went out in the same way they had exited France 98, Euro 96, and the European Championships in 1992.

As the Italians, in the form of Luigi Di Biagio - exorcising his miss against France in the World Cup - Gianluca Pessotto and Francesco Totti kept their nerve, Holland's crucially evaporated.

Frank De Boer, who never recovered from allowing Toldo to make a magnificent save from his first- half penalty, wilted again.

Jaap Stam sent his effort into orbit, and while Kluivert partially made up for striking the woodwork with his first penalty, to find the net, and Edwin Van Der Sar's save from Maldini kept the flame flickering, it was extinguished as Toldo saved from Bosvelt.

Toldo, only in goal for Italy because first-choice Gianluigi Buffon broke his arm against Norway on the eve of the tournament, was destined to be the hero. But he shared those honours with his defenders.

They needed good fortune too, but in football you make your own luck, and all the dog-fighting instincts that separate Serie A from the other European leagues came to the fore last night.

Holland could only hold their heads. They knew they had their chances. Bergkamp, who had looked set to run the game when he dropped into space, cracked against the post after leaving Mark Iuliano flat-footed, and other chances came and went through Kluivert and Phillip Cocu.

Zambrotta's deserved dismissal forced a reshuffle and ensured incessant Dutch possession and pressure. But once Kluivert had sent Toldo the wrong way after Iuliano had downed Edgar Davids, only to see his effort rebound off the post, they seemed fated not to score.

Indeed, with Alessandro Del Piero sacrificing his natural instincts for the common cause and Filippo Inzaghi and substitutes Totti and Marco Delvecchio equally selfless by running Stam and De Boer to distraction, the longer it went on the more likely it was that the Italians would steal the winner.

Delvecchio twice squandered opportunities, in the last seconds of normal time and then 10 minutes into the gut-churning extra period, which had the whole stadium holding its breath. He burst away beyond the Dutch defence but failed to beat Van Der Sar.

Despite all the efforts of Davids, the twists and turns of Overmars, the thrusts of Kluivert - who twice might have won it in the second extra period - Holland's fire was doused and extinguished.

So were the hopes of a whole country as history repeated itself in a black farce for the oranje, proving that there is one area of the game where England and Holland are equals. Italy, though, have overcome their biggest mental barrier.

Italy (3-4-1-2): Toldo; Cannavaro, Nesta, Iuliano; Zambrotta, Albertini (Pessotto, 77), Di Biagio, Maldini; Fiore (Totti, 83); Inzaghi (Delvecchio, 67), Del Piero. Sent off: Zambrotta. Booked: Zambrotta, Iuliano, Toldo, Maldini, Di Biagio.

Holland (4-4-1-1): Van Der Sar; Bosvelt, Stam, F De Boer, Van Bronckhorst; Overmars (Van Vossen, 77min), Davids, Cocu (Winter, 95), Zenden; Bergkamp (Seedorf, 87); Kluivert. Booked: Zenden, Davids, Van Bronckhorst, Stam.

Referee: Markus Merk (Ger)