Tuesday's nail-biting match appeared to be heading for a penalty shoot-out when defender Fabio Grosso curled the ball past Jens Lehmann with two minutes left to play.

Substitute Alessandro Del Piero rounded off a swift counter-attack with a cool finish in time added on to finally end Germany's World Cup dream.

Italy, who hit the woodwork twice before Grosso broke the deadlock, will face either France or Portugal - who meet on Wednesday - in Sunday's Berlin showpiece.

"It's a great satisfaction - these lads are fantastic," Lippi said as Italy reached the final for the first time since 1994.

"We suffered at times, but I felt that if one team was going to win it, it was us. Territorially we dominated, and in the end we took a few risks which paid off.

"These boys are something special. This morning we got together and had a chat and I told them they should be proud of themselves for reawakening the enthusiasm and love for our country."

Lippi, whose contract with Italy ends after the World Cup, refused to say whether he would tempted to stay on.

"My future? Let me enjoy this moment," he said.

Grosso, who celebrated his goal in a similar fashion to the way Marco Tardelli expressed his joy at scoring Italy's second goal against Germany in the 1982 World Cup final, was lost for words.

"I've few words, all I can say is that we are a great squad," said the Palermo defender, who after finding the net shook his head and pumped his fists in delirium just as Tardelli did in Spain 24 years ago.

The Azzurri's preparation for the match would no doubt have been disrupted by events back in Italy where prosecutor Stefano Palazzi recommended relegation for Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina as punishment for their suspected involvement in match-fixing.

Thirteen of the Italy squad, none of whom are implicated in the scandal, play for the four accused clubs and could soon be considering their futures.

Grosso admitted it had been difficult to stay focussed on the Germany match.

"We went out there on the pitch with many things going on around us and now we can celebrate," said the 28-year-old.

Asked what he thought about Italy's chances of becoming world champions for a fourth time, he replied: "We hope we can produce another great performance. We believe in ourselves."