Italy and Spain renew rivalry in heavyweight battle today

Italy battles with Spain in the first semi-final encounter at the Wembley Stadium in their old rivalry today.

The Italians won the EUROS back in 1968 and suffered their greatest defeat in the hands of the Spanish in the EURO 2012 finals by recording a 4-0 deficit score-line.

The Azzuri however savaged the situation when they beat the Spanish in the knockout stage by 2-0 in the EURO 2016 at France.

With the impressive record of thirty-two matches unbeaten and in great form, the Azzuris are yet to be tested by the 2008 and 2012 European champions.

Today, the Spanish, who happens to be the masters of the game for much of the past decades, will be underdogs in the tournament’s first semi-final. 

In the quarterfinal, Italy demonstrated they know how to win when they outclassed Belgium for much of a frantic match before reverting to some old-school defending in the dying minutes of the match to protect the lead. 

It was almost the perfect match for Italy, but for star man and full-back Leonardo Spinazzola being stretchered off with a ruptured Achilles tendon, that won’t dent Italy’s confidence. 

“We have a very identifiable style of play.

“We want to take the game to the opposition. 

“You can’t boss a match for 90 minutes, but our culture and tradition allows us to dig in. 

“We will have to defend at times to stop Spain from causing us problems.” said veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci.

In 2012, Bonucci featured in Italy’s dramatic 4-0 Euro 2012 final defeat at the hands of Spain, and again four years later when the Squadra prevailed 2-0 in Paris. 

Bonucci said that both teams this time would stick to their style, a sentiment echoed by his coach Roberto Mancini, who praised Spain’s possession game.

“It’s a style of football that Spain has played over the last 15-20 years and has brought incredible success.

“Our style of play is slightly different. 

“We are Italy, we can’t necessarily become Spanish overnight.

“We have our own way of playing and we will try to be true to that,” said Mancini. 

Spain will represent Italy’s biggest test yet. After a slow start in the group stages, Luis Enrique’s team have ignited and they are the leading scorers of the tournament. 

Unquestionably, they also top the possession stats. The Spanish are also on a run of thirteen unbeaten games. 

Luis Enrique believes his team are the best side in the competition. He will definitely find out soon enough if he is right.

The four-time World champion – Italy will battle the 2010 World champions to book their ticket in the finals of EURO 2020 today.