Fabrice Muamba makes heart monitor joke before England shootout

When Italy couldn't finish off England after 120 minutes of play, and its Euro 2012 quarterfinal went to a penalty shootout, there was reason to be nervous for both sides. For Italy, there was the chance that it would lose after controlling the vast majority of the grueling match. For England, it was once again being faced with its kryptonite -- the shootout had already been its demise in five of the previous nine tournaments in which it had participated. And for Fabrice Muamba, watching back home three months after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during an FA Cup match, this was a risky situation.

But the former England youth teamer showed that he has a good sense of humor to go with his indomitable spirit and brought a bit of levity to the situation. Said Muamba on Twitter just before the shootout:

And attached to that message was the above picture of his heart monitor.

Though Muamba was prepared, I don't think anyone else was quite ready for what Andrea Pirlo did to Joe Hart to help Italy come from behind to win the shootout 4-2.