This is Sportstar's match blog of the EURO 2020 first semifinal encounter between Italy and Spain at the Wembley Stadium.
So the home side England will square off against surprise package Denmark tomorrow in the second semifinal of the 2021 European Championships at the Wembley Stadium. Until then, have a good night!
MATCH REPORT |
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Both teams couldn't find the winner during 30 minutes of extra time and a penalty shootout was needed to get a finalist. Italy eventually came out on top and booked a date with either England or Denmark.
Federico Chiesa had given Italy the lead in the 60th minute of the match. Twenty minutes later, super-sub Alvaro Morata found the equaliser for Spain and took the game into extra time.
ROBERTO MANCINI'S ITALY REACHES THE FINAL OF EURO 2020 WITH A 4-2 WIN OVER SPAIN DURING THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT (1-1 AFTER EXTRA TIME) IN WEMBLEY!!!!!
ITALY 4 - 2 SPAIN: JORGINHO WINS IT FOR THE ITALIANS!!!
3 - 2: Gianluigi Donnarumma saves Alvaro Morata's penalty!
ITALY 3 - 2 SPAIN: Federico Bernardeschi scores!
2 - 2: Thiago Alcantara scores!
ITALY 2 - 1 SPAIN: Leonardo Bonucci scores!
1 - 1: Gerard Moreno scores!
ITALY 1 - 0 SPAIN: Andrea Belotti scores!
0 - 0: Dani Olmo fires his shot well over the crossbar!
ITALY 0 - 0 SPAIN: Unai Simon saves Manuel Locatelli's shot!
AND THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT IS UNDERWAY!
Italy does have good penalty takers but under pressure anything can happen. It's Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy) vs Unai Simon (Spain). Italy will take the first spot-kick. Stay tuned!
This will be Spain's second penalty shootout on the trot. It had defeated Switzerland 3-1 in an error-prone shootout during the quarterfinals. No team has won two shootouts in the same EURO!
AND IT'S FULL-TIME! SCORE: ITALY 1 - 1 SPAIN!!!
120' YELLOW CARD! Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci is booked by the referee for a reckless challenge on an opposition player. One last chance for Spain. But Thiago Alcantara sends a poor pass forward as Italy regains possession.
117' COUNTER-ATTACK! Gerard Moreno swings a cross into the box, but it's far too close to Gianluigi Donnarumma, who smothers the ball away. Italy begins a counter but Andrea Belotti is caught offside by the linesman in the build-up. The referee awards Spain a free-kick.
113' Domenico Berardi has created an impact for Italy since coming on. He's constantly troubled the Spanish defence. He even had a goal disallowed due to offside in extra time. Seven minutes to go, can he score?
109' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR EITHER SIDE! Federico Bernardeschi replaces Federico Chiesa on the field for Italy. Meanwhile, Sergio Busquets and Eric Garcia make way for Thiago Alcantara and Pau Torres, respectively, in the middle in Spain's case.
THE SECOND PERIOD OF EXTRA TIME BEGINS!
105' NO ADDED TIME HERE! Toloi was booked for that earlier challenge. He is the first Italian player to go into the referee's book today. On the other hand, Dani Olmo tries to find his Spain teammate Alvaro Morata, but he puts too much power on the through ball.
102' CHANCE FOR SPAIN! Gerard Moreno sends a teasing cross into the box, but Donnarumma intercepts the ball. Marcos Llorente gets to the rebound just outside the box, but his attempt on target is blocked by one of the defending Italian players.
98' ANOTHER SPAIN SET-PIECE! Dani Olmo wins another free-kick as Rafael Toloi brings him down. He took it himself and tested Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to a great extent with his shot. Olmo has clearly been the best player on the pitch tonight.
94' FREE-KICK FOR SPAIN! Dani Olmo delivers a fine cross into the box. However, Jorginho clears the ball away with a timely header. Italy tries to initiate a quick counter-attack but a foul brings a pause in the game.
THE FIRST PERIOD OF EXTRA TIME IS UNDERWAY!
And we move into extra time yet again in this tournament. This is Spain's third straight extra time of the competition, while Italy played one against Austria earlier in the round-of-16.
REMINDER: The winner of this EURO 2020 semifinal encounter will square off against either home team England or Denmark at the same stadium on Sunday in the summit clash.
NINETY MINUTES PLUS STOPPAGE TIME IS DONE! SCORE: ITALY 1 - 1 SPAIN!!!
90' THREE MINUTES OF STOPPAGE TIME HAS BEEN ADDED ON! There was a handball from Italy skipper Giorgio Chiellini inside the box and the Spain players immediately claimed a penalty. However, the referee deems it unintentional and the VAR supports his call.
86' SUBSTITUTIONS FROM BOTH SIDES! Marcos Llorente replaces Cesar Azpilicueta on the field for Spain. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Insigne and Nicolo Barella make way for Andrea Belotti and Manuel Locatelli in Italy's case.
80' GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!! ALVARO MORATA EQUALISESSS!!!!!! SPAIN 1 - 1 ITALY!!!!!!! Morata was released by his teammate Dani Olmo up front. He then surged into the box and slotted the ball home after going one-on-one with Donnarumma.
78' CORNER FOR SPAIN! Alvaro Morata won this set-piece and Dani Olmo will be taking it. He sends a decent cross into the box but the Italian defence does well to avert the danger.
75' Spain is trying everything possible to find the equaliser here. But the Italian defence has been extremely compact and solid so far. The wastefulness of the Spanish outfit up front is an added advantage for Italy.
72' TWO CHANGES FOR ITALY NOW! Manager Roberto Mancini is bringing on Matteo Pessina and Rafael Toloi to replace Marco Verratti and Emerson, respectively, in the middle. Domenico Berardi had come on for Ciro Immobile earlier in the second half.
69' DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION FOR SPAIN! Head coach Luis Enrique has decided to bring on Gerard Moreno and Rodri to replace Mikel Oyarzabal and Koke, respectively, on the field. Ferran Torres had made way for Alvaro Morata a while ago.
66' VERY CLOSE! Spain's Dani Olmo takes a shot on the volley from the edge of the box after a rebound. It's a great effort and has Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma scrambling, but it flies just wide of the crossbar.
63' WHAT A MISS! This was initially given offside by the linesman but replays clearly showed that Leonardo Bonucci played Mikel Oyarzabal onside. Spain forward Oyarzabal wasn't able to head the ball into goal from point-blank range.
60' GOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FEDERICO CHIESA SCOREESSSSS!!! ITALY 1 - 0 SPAIN!!!!! Chiesa pounced on a loose ball, which came off a Lorenzo Insigne pass that wasn't cleared away properly by the Spanish defence, inside the box and he beat Unai Simon with a curling shot towards the right post.
57' SPAIN CHANCE! Ferran Torres gets on the end of a good pass from Mikel Oyarzabal. He unleashes a decent strike, but the shot is blocked by Italy full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
54' YELLOW CARD! This one will be the first booking of the match. Sergio Busquets did commit a foul but think he was penalised for arguing too much with tonight's refree.
51' TIME FOR A SPAIN CORNER NOW! Koke will take it from the left. He swings a dangerous cross into the box. But Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma comes off his line to punch the ball away.
48' CORNER FOR ITALY! Lorenzo Insigne is on set-piece duty as usual. He sends a good cross into the middle. But Spain centre-back heads the ball away from danger.
THE SECOND HALF IS UNDERWAY!
Get a Sportstar membership to access exclusive content and latest issues of our eMagazine. Click here to subscribe!!
Forty-five minutes to go. Stay tuned!
AND IT'S HALF-TIME! SCORE: ITALY 0 - 0 SPAIN!!!
45' NO STOPPAGE TIME HAS BEEN ADDED ON! Emerson wastes a good chance for Italy. He prods the ball onto the crossbar from close range. Simon take a really long goal-kick to bring the first half to an end.
41' ANOTHER ITALY OFFSIDE! Ciro Immobile is just too eager to find the back of the net tonight. But the referee has caught him offside yet again. A few moments earlier, Mikel Oyarzabal messed up a glorious scoring opportunity for Spain.
37' CHANCE FOR ITALY! Lorenzo Insigne received a delightful pass from his teammate Immobile but the advance is stopped as the ball goes out. The referee blows his whistle and Spain will have a goal-kick.
33' BRILLIANT INTERCEPTION! Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma executed a good long ball forward. It was two strikers vs two defenders up front. In the end, Aymeric Laporte clears the danger for Spain.
30' GOOD CLEARANCE! Spain custodian Unai Simon comes off his line to get to the ball before Italy striker Ciro Immobile, who was chasing a through-pass from his teammate. Simon kicks it out of play.
27' CALLS FOR A PENALTY FROM SPAIN??!!! Giorgio Chiellini tackles Dani Olmo on the line of the box. Olmo writhes in pain claiming a foul but the referee thinks otherwise as Italy regains possession.
24' CORNER FOR SPAIN! Mikel Oyarzabal swings in a cross into the box. But the ball is comfortably cleared away by the Italian defence. The Spanish outfit needs to start finishing its chances!
21' WHAT A CHANCE FOR ITALY! Emerson came up with a wonderful run on the left wing. He managed to evade the challenge of goalkeeper Simon and send the ball towards Ciro Immobile, who in turn sets up Barella. But a timely challenge from Busquets helps Spain avert the danger.
18' FREE-KICK FOR ITALY! Spain captain Sergio Busquets brings down Barella just outside the box and concedes a set-piece. Lorenzo Insigne will take this. However, his attempted chip is collected by Unai Simon.
15' SHOT! Italy midfielder Nicolo Barella loses the ball in midfield with a poor pass. Spain forward Ferran Torres collects the ball, takes a few steps forward and fires a shot. It misses the target by quite a bit.
12' Some good early domination from the Spanish national football team here. Italy was the clear favourite heading into the EURO 2020's first semifinal. But Enrique's side is giving it a tough time.
9' ANOTHER SPAIN CHANCE! Jordi Alba comes up with a brilliant move on the left flank. He tries to find a teammate with a cross into the middle. However, Leonardo Bonucci's header averts the danger for Italy.
6' CHANCE FOR SPAIN! Ferran Torres breaks past a few challenges at the edge of the box, but puts too much power on his pass to Olmo. The ball rolls out of play and it's a goal-kick for Roberto Mancini's Italy.
3' FOUL! This was a Spain move forward and Dani Olmo, who replaced Pablo Sarabia in Luis Enrique's playing XI today, committed a silly challenge. The referee doesn't hand him a card but gives Italy a free-kick.
AND THE MATCH BEGINS!
Luis Enrique has coped with personal tragedy and the impact of negative public opinion to lead his young Spain squad to the Euro semis. Today's game is the team's biggest since it won the 2012 final and a win would complete an eventful few weeks for the coach.
PRE-MATCH PRESSER |
In case you missed it, Italy defender Leonardo Spinazzola had surgery on his Achilles tendon on Monday in Finland. He was ruled of the rest of the tournament after the quarterfinal win over Belgium. Full-back Emerson has replaced him in today's lineup.
READ |
The team lineups are out!
ITALY XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma (G), Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (C), Emerson, Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Marco Verratti, Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile, Federico Chiesa.
COACH - Roberto Mancini.
SPAIN XI: Unai Simon (G), Cesar Azpilicueta, Aymeric Laporte, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba, Pedri, Sergio Busquets (C), Koke, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Mikel Oyarzabal.
COACH - Luis Enrique.
The perception around the profile of footballers sometimes exists that a footballer must excel in any system, condition or league. It must be normalised that a player with a particular profile may not necessarily fit into every system.
FULL STORY |
Both Italy and Spain are coming off contrasting quarterfinal wins over Belgium and Switzerland, respectively, and will be eager to book their place in Sunday's final at the same venue. Here are the predicted playing XIs for the two teams.
READ MORE |
MATCH PREVIEW:
Spain's cycle of dominance of European football began and ended with Italy so it is fitting its hopes of a reconquest will see it face Roberto Mancini's side, which is on its own path towards redemption, in Tuesday's Euro 2020 semifinal.
This is a fixture laced with history, not least for coach Luis Enrique, who was left with a broken nose by opponent Mauro Tassotti which went unpunished in a 1994 World Cup quarterfinal defeat and to this day sparks feelings of injustice in Spain.
Spaniards have happier memories of its Euro 2008 quarterfinal, when it prevailed on penalties after a goalless draw in its toughest game on its path to its first international trophy in 44 years.
They met again in the Euro 2012 final in arguably Spain's best display in that glorious four-year cycle, winning 4-0 in a performance so dominant captain Iker Casillas pleaded with the referee to blow his whistle and put Italy out of its misery.
But the Italians would have its revenge four years later in the last 16 when a team fired up by Antonio Conte deservedly won 2-0 at the Stade de France to end Spain's long period of continental hegemony.
But that win did not spark the revival Italy hoped and a 3-0 defeat to Spain in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup led to them missing out on international football's biggest event for the first time since 1958.
RELATED |
It also provoked a deep identity crisis which led them to appoint Roberto Mancini. Mancini has got the country falling back in love with the national team by overseeing some sparkling football and creating a real sense of unity demonstrated in the way it has celebrated every victory as if it had won a trophy.
That sense of togetherness could be seen on the pitch as they defended like gladiators in their 2-1 win over Belgium in the quarterfinals and in their raucous tribute on the flight home to defender Leonardo Spinazzola, who tore his Achilles tendon and is out of the tournament.
Spain's path to the semifinals has been less smooth, getting off to a croaky start with dull draws against Sweden and Poland before coming to life with a 5-0 win over Slovakia and a 5-3 win against Croatia after extra time.
Their quarterfinal success over Switzerland on penalties was far less exciting but had the hallmarks of the shootout win over Italy 13 years ago and showcased the team spirit players and Luis Enrique have talked up throughout the tournament.
"From day one we were confident we were a solid and united group and that we were good enough and we've proved that," said forward Mikel Oyarzabal ahead of the Wembley semifinal.
"Italy are a top level team with players who keep performing at the highest level with their clubs but we're not any less than them."
Comments
SHARE