By Milcah Tanimu
Spain and Italy are set to clash once again, rekindling memories of their semi-final encounter in the previous Euros, where Italy emerged victorious on penalties after a thrilling match at Wembley. Spanish manager Luis de la Fuente is hopeful that this group stage match will live up to its star-studded billing.
“They’re contenders in every international competition,” de la Fuente said of Italy. “Spain versus Italy is a classic game; it could very easily be the final. They have great players, a great coach, and a real football culture. They’re one of the great national teams.”
One of Spain’s rising stars, Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player in Euros history at 16 during their match against Croatia, is expected to start again. “We all know what a great player he is,” said teammate Fabian Ruiz. “He’s only 16 but he doesn’t show that on the pitch. He’s extremely direct, excellent one-on-one, and very important for us. He’s going to be a great option for us to try and win this game.”
Spain is likely to have captain Alvaro Morata available after a knock in the Croatia game. However, defender Aymeric Laporte is still recovering from a muscle injury and is not expected to play.
For Italy, Nicolo Fagioli has returned to training after missing the Albania game with a bruised shinbone and could feature in this match.
The game will kick off at 20:00 BST. You can listen to the build-up and full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and via BBC Sounds from 19:30 BST. Live text updates will be available on the BBC Sport website and app. Television coverage will be on ITV, with highlights on BBC Two at 23:05 BST, This will be the 11th meeting between Spain and Italy at a major tournament, the most between two European nations.
– It’s the fifth consecutive European Championship at which they’ve met, dating back to 2008.
– Excluding penalty shoot-outs, Italy have lost only one of their 10 matches against Spain at Euros and World Cups – a 4-0 defeat in the Euro 2012 final.
– Spain have won all three of their previous European Championship meetings with the reigning champions, reaching the final each time: 2-1 vs Soviet Union in 1964, 1-0 vs West Germany in 1984, and 2-1 vs Greece in 2008.
– Under Luis de la Fuente, Spain has only lost one of their 11 competitive games (W9 D1), winning each of the last seven. Their last longer winning streak in competitive fixtures was eight in a row between October 2016 and October 2017.
– Italy has only lost one of their last 12 matches across all competitions, a 3-1 defeat to England in Euro 2024 qualifying last October.
