After a well-deserved victory over Italy in Gelsenkirchen by a score of 1-0, Spain secured their place in the round of sixteen of the Euro 2024 tournament.
A meeting between the reigning European Champions Italy and a Spain team that was hoping to emulate their success at the European Championships in 2008 and 2012 took place on the second matchday of Group B.
The rhythm of the match was defined from the beginning, as Spain was able to pepper Italy’s goal in the first quarter of the match by launching a persistent attack through the first quarter.
In a strong first period, Pedri, Nico Williams, Alvaro Morata, and Fabian Ruiz all had the opportunity to break the tie, but Italy ultimately maintained their composure and made it through to halftime without suffering any injuries.
The relentless pressure exerted by La Roja ultimately proved to be decisive in the 55th minute, when Riccardo Calafiori accidentally sent the ball into his own net. La Roja showed no signs of stopping their relentless assault.
The young guns of Luis de la Fuente had to settle for a close victory, which assures that Spain will participate in the knockout rounds of the European Championships for the fifth consecutive year. Although it appeared that a second goal for Spain was more likely than an equalizer for Italy, the result was a narrow triumph nonetheless.
With the momentum from their resounding victory over Croatia by a score of 3-0, Spain made a strong attempt to take the lead within the first two minutes of the match in Gelsenkirchen.
Williams did an excellent job of working the space to set up Pedri for an attack, but the midfielder was unable to get his head over the ball, which allowed Gianluigi Donnarumma to have the opportunity to tip the ball over the bar.
Following that, Williams missed a golden opportunity by putting his header wide of the target after Morata had delivered an inch-perfect delivery from the left flank side.
Morata found himself in a situation that was increasingly familiar to him as the game progressed past the twenty-minute mark. He received the ball within the box, but he took one touch too many, which allowed Donnarumma to close the angle and make a solid save at the post.
Due to the fact that Spain was unable to capitalize on the opportunities that were presented to them, Ruiz took it upon himself to fire a thunderous long-range strike, which necessitated another significant intervention from Donnarummula.
Luciano Spalletti, the manager of Italy, would have been dissatisfied with the fact that his team did not have a single shot on target throughout the first half of the match. However, the fact that the game ended in a scoreless draw at halftime was the only thing that could have been considered a positive development.
During the halftime break, Spalleti selected two players from his bench in an effort to change the course of the game. These players were Bryan Cristante of Roma and Andrea Cambiaso of Juventus.
However, those adjustments did not have the expected impact as Spain continued to open up the Italian defense. Pedri arrived in the box to meet Marc Cucurella’s clever pullback, but he guided the ball harmlessly wide of Donnarumma’s goal. This was the result of Spain’s repeated efforts to open up the Italian defense.
As a result of Spain’s inability to capitalize on their obvious opportunities, they were ultimately provided with a significant assistance when, in the 55th minute, Calafiori redirected the ball into his own net.
Williams advanced to the byline and sent a cross that Morata met; Morata then sent a left-handed parry to Donnarumma, which caused the ball to rebound off the unfortunate Calafiori and into the net.
When Williams cut in from the left side and launched a tremendous strike against Donnarumma’s crossbar, he came close to putting his own name on the scoresheet. This achievement came after Williams had played a significant role in the first game.
Alternate the Even though Ayoze Perez had a handful of chances to score in the last minutes of the game, Spain was unable to score a second goal that they deserved.
As for Italy, they concluded the competition with only one shot on target and very rarely appeared to be able to find a means to come back into the competition.
FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE ON X
READ MORE;
Denmark 1-1 England: Wasteful England missed a chance to secure last-16
Slovenia 1-1 Serbia: Late Jovic heroic secure a point for Serbia
Croatia 2-2 Albania: Both team fail to secure win in a dramatic game