"I had some good and bad times," the Real Madrid keeper said after the game.

Casillas endured the painful experience of losing to South Korea in the World Cup 2002 quarter finals.

"If I'm not wrong, the last time I saved a penalty was in the 2002 World Cup at the last-16 stage, but then in the quarter-finals we went out to South Korea.

"So I'm glad we were lucky against Italy. It's all about luck," added the Spain Captain.

Casillas was the hero as he made two saves against Italy on Sunday leading Spain to their first EURO semi-final since 1984.

Meanwhile Spain coach Luis Aragones was full of praise for his goalie and said that it has nothing to do with luck.

"I was sure he would save the penalties. His goalkeeping coach told him where the Italian players like to aim. This morning they watched a few videos and analyzed those small details," said the 69-year old manager.