Spain vs Italy: At the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Riccardo Calafiori’s own goal in the 55th minute ended the Group B match.
Europe, take note: Spain may be making a comeback.
Spain vs Italy: The three-time European champion defeated defending champion Italy 1-0 on Thursday to go to the round of 16 at Euro 2024.
At the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Riccardo Calafiori’s own goal in the 55th minute ended the Group B match. However, that only scratches the surface of Spain’s stunning performance, which undoubtedly establishes it as a heavy favorite to win a record-tying fourth European Championship.
Coach Luis de la Fuente declared, “I think it was the best Spain performance I have taken charge of.” “This team has no ceiling in my opinion. The possibilities are endless.
The 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal further cemented his status as one of soccer’s most exciting young stars as Spain utterly destroyed the reigning champion Italy.
Player of the match Nico Williams also caused havoc for Italy’s defense and missed a goal in the second half by the narrowest of margins.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Italian goalkeeper, made a series of excellent saves to keep the score down until he unintentionally pushed the ball into Calafiori’s legs, whereupon he was unable to stop it from ricocheting into his own goal.
“We were never in the game and they deserved to win,” Luciano Spalletti, the Italy coach, stated. “The gap was excessively wide. We were always overworked, unable to close the gaps between the different units, and they could take advantage of us. Let’s not mince words: they gave us more trouble than the score indicates.
Spain’s performance was reminiscent of the days when it dominated world soccer, winning the World Cup in 2008 and the European Championship in consecutive years.
After losing to Croatia 3-0 in their opening match, Spain did not control possession for the first time in 136 competitive games. Instead, they starved Italy of the ball and controlled play in a contest that was generally lopsided.
The first half was full of opportunities, as Donnarumma made several saves to keep the score tied.
Despite all of Spain’s dominance, Calafiori’s own goal was necessary to break the tie after the interval.
Alvaro Morata’s glancing header was pushed by Donnarumma between Calafiori’s knees, and the player could only watch as the ball rebounded into the net.
Williams then had a curling shot that hit the bar, just missing by millimeters to increase the lead.
Williams declared, “We dominated across the board.” “Italy is a great team, but we played really well and earned the victory.”
Williams is merely one of De la Fuente’s squad’s bright young talents. Another is Yamal, a juvenile player from Barcelona with a $1 billion buyout clause who displayed his skills with slaloming runs and tricks.
The Barcelona player Pedri appears to be the Spanish legend Andres Iniesta’s contemporary.
“I want to emphasize how good this generation of players is, especially the players in this team. The world’s finest players are Spanish, according to De la Fuente.
After losing the last three World Cups and winning the Euros in 2012, Spain has had a difficult time of it.
It fell to Italy in the semifinals of the previous European Championship on penalties.
However, after winning the UEFA Nations League the previous year, there have been indications of a comeback in recent times.
It appears to be in a good position now to challenge for another significant title in Germany.
In essence, nothing has been accomplished thus far, according to De la Fuente. Football has a brutal side. We must use caution, humility, and respect.
In Group C, England and Denmark drew 1-1 after Harry Kane scored the first goal and then made an error that allowed the Danes to equalize. In Frankfurt, Kane gave his team a lead thanks to a record-breaking 64th goal. Nevertheless, Morten Hjulmand was able to equalize from a distance after his careless pass.
Luka Jovic scored in stoppage time of the other Group C match to give Serbia a 1-1 draw with Slovenia.
With four points in the lead, England is probably going to make it to the round of 16.