As part of one of the semi-final matches of the European Football Championship, the players of the national teams of Italy and Spain will come face to face. On whose side will the victory be in this confrontation?
Italy
In the first round of the group stage, the Italian team was able to beat the Turkish team to the nines, defeating the latter with a score of 3: 0. In the second meeting of the group stage, the Italian team was able to defeat the team from Switzerland. Manuel Locatelli scored a goal in each half, and Ciro Immobile completed what he started. The meeting with Wales had no tournament significance, and therefore Roberto Mancini released a reserve squad for the game, which managed to win thanks to a spectacular goal by Pessina. In the 1/8 finals, Squadra Azzurra not without problems squeezed Austria (2: 1 FROM), defeating the opponent in overtime, and in the quarterfinals, the Italians were able to beat Belgium (2: 1), getting the winning score in the first half.
Spain
The Spanish national team did not start the group tournament in the best way. Having lost a number of important players due to coronavirus, the team broke up in a draw with Sweden (0:0), and Alvaro Morata did not realize several scoring chances. In the game with Poland in the second round, Luis Enrique's team opened the scoring in the first half, after which he did not realize a penalty and missed a number of chances, allowing Poland to equalize the score in the game and scratch out a draw. Only by the third round was Busquets able to return to the team, and then the Spaniards literally broke through. They scored five goals against Slovakia and defeated the latter with a score of 5:0. In the match with Croatia in the 1/8 finals, Spain led with a score of 3: 1, but missed the advantage, allowing the opponent to transfer the game to extra-time, where in the end it was able to squeeze the opponent-5:3. In the quarterfinals, things went even further, and the victory over Switzerland was achieved only in a series of 11-meter shots (3: 1).
Statistics and figures:
- Italy is the favorite of the match;
- The Italians have a 32-match streak without defeats;
- Spain played in a draw in 4 of the 5 previous meetings;
- The Spaniards have a 13-match streak without defeats;
- The last face-to-face meeting of the opponents ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of the Spaniards.
Forecast
The last time the opponents met in the selection for the 2018 World Cup, where Spain drew 1-1 away, and won 3-0 on its own field. I think that in this meeting the game will be dictated by" Squadra Azzurra", which will score a goal in the match first.