AS Roma star Daniele De Rossi hailed Italy teammate Andrea Pirlo after their Euro2012 quarterfinal victory over England.

De Rossi likened Juventus midfielder Pirlo's chipped penalty to Francesco Totti's in the Euro 2000 shoot-out.

"It's one of those nights that remain with you forever. It reminds me of Francesco Totti against Holland 12 years ago when Pirlo scored that crazy penalty," he said of the 4-2 shoot-out win over England.

De Rossi had a great opportunity to open the scoring in the first few minutes, but his 30-metre screamer came off the woodwork.

"When I hit the post I thought a few things, so that went badly, but I wouldn't change anything about this night.

"I still have to discover if I'm right or left-footed. I risked sending that shot into the stands, but it went fairly well - apart from the upright."