Euro 2020: Spain vs Italy match preview- team news, lineups

It all comes to a head in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 as the 3 times European Champions will meet the 4-time World Cup winners Italy in Wembley Stadium on July 6. Both teams were favorites to win Euro 2020 going into the tournament, especially Spain since their 6-0 thrashing of Germany in the latter parts of 2020. But their performances in the tournament so far, puts Italy on slightly better footing than Spain and they will be favorites going into this match.

While Spain had lackluster performances against Sweden and Poland, Spain’s 5-0 victory over Slovakia in the final match of the group stage and the subsequent 5-3 victory over World Cup finalists, Croatia, makes them dangerous going forward. Italy on the other hand have dominated teams in the group stage while also winning against Austria and heavy favorites, Belgium, with the finest margins. Italy have been tough to break down, like many best Italy teams in history. So Spain will have their work cut out for them going into this match.

Spain vs Italy Preview

Luis Enrique’s men played more than an hour more football than Italy in the last two matches on the account of bother their games going into extra time and one of them even into the penalty shoot-outs. It may catch up to them in this match but let’s first see how these teams got into Euro 2020 in the first place:

Spain

was in Group F in the qualifying stages for Euro 2020, with the likes of Sweden, Norway and Romania, and finished first by winning 8 and drawing 2 of their 10 matches, scoring 31 and conceding only 5.

Their top goal scorers were Sergio Ramos and

both with 4 goals. the former Real Madrid defender was controversially excluded from Spain’s Euro 2020 squad and perhaps after their horrendous defensive display in their Euro 2020 round of 16 match against Croatia, Enrique wishes that he had taken the experienced defender with him.

Italy

Italy and Belgium were the only teams to have a perfect record in the qualifying stages of Euro 2020. Italy won all 10 of their matches, scoring 37 and only conceding 4 goals in those games. They finished above the likes of Finland, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia. Their biggest win was strangely against Armenia and not Lichtenstein, where they beat Armenia 9-1, which is almost the biggest win in Italy’s history.

was their top goalscorer with 4 goals while Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne and Jorginho all trailed him with 3 goals. Belotti may even get his chance against Spain after Immobile’s poor showing against Belgium.

Form Analysis

Now let’s move onto the Croatia and Spain’s current form and their squad situation:

Spain

Spain’s form in the past year and a half has been a mixed bag despite them losing only once in that period. Mainly because they have drawn 8 and only won 7 of their last 15 matches. But there was much hope in Enrique’s side going into Euro 2020, especially considering their 6-0 win over Germany.

However, they didn’t start the Euros on a high note since they failed to get a win in their first 2 matches against Sweden and Poland, in both of which they controlled the majority of the game and had numerous chances. But they finally managed to show their quality in the final match of the group stage as they beat Slovakia 5-0.

They then became the only team in Euro history to score 5 goals in consecutive games by beating

5-3 in extra time in the round of 16. Enrique’s men may be a bit tired after going to the penalties against Switzerland in the quarter-finals but they have high hopes after coming so far in the tournaments.

Italy

Italy’s current form is the stuff legends as the Azzuri are on a 32-game unbeaten run. They have won all 13 of their previous matches including the 5 they’ve had so far in Euro 2020. In addition to their great form,

hasn’t conceded a goal from open play in all those 13 matches.

They started Euro 2020 by beating Turkey 3-0 before repeating the same result against Switzerland. And in the last match of the group stage they beat Wales 1-0 to finish as the winners of Group A with a perfect record.

They then beat Austria 2-1 on extra time after the game finished 1-1 in the normal 90 minutes. But perhaps their most important win of the tournament was against

in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020. their victory against Belgium showed that they could not only win against one of the top contenders but they could also defend pretty well. Which gives Mancini’s men high hopes going into this match.

Spain vs Italy - Head-to-head in all competitions

The first match between the two dates back to 97 years ago where the game was drawn. Since then Spain and Italy have faced each other 33 times with Spain having the advantage by winning 12 as opposed to Italy’s 9 wins over Spain. 12 matches have also ended in a draw.

Italy and Spain have faced each other in the previous 3 European Championships with Spain winning 2 and Italy the other. The two came head-to-head in the final of Euro 2012 where Spain humiliated Italy by winning 4-0 and they completed their hat-trick of winning 2 Euros and a World Cup consecutively. Jordi Alba and Sergio Bosquets from Spain and Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonnuci from Italy are players from that game that will still be present in this game.

Interestingly enough, Spain and Italy have faced fewer shots than any other team in Euro 2020 except for Germany but have also had more shots on average per game than any other team.

Line-ups and Formations

Luis Enrique will go for his tried and true 4-3-3 formation. Pablo Sarabia’s involvement is in doubt as he is having muscular problems which is a huge blow to Spain as he was perhaps their most important player so far in the tournament. Without him, their possible starting line-up will consist of: Unai Simón; Azpilicueta, García, Laporte, Alba; Koke, Busquets, Pedri; Moreno, Morata, Olmo.

Mancini will also go for his 4-3-3 formation with a slight change as he’ll most likely replace Berrardi with Chiesa upfront. Spinazzola joins his other Roma teammates (Pellegrini and Florenzi) as Italy’s injured players and will miss the tournament. With Emerson in as Spinazzola’s replacement, the most likely starting line-up for Italy will be: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne.

Players to Watch

Spain has no shortage of players that could have a big impact on the game but Manchester City’s young striker Ferran Torres might be the player that takes Spain to the next round.

has been directly involved in 8 goals (7 goals and 1 assist) for Spain in the last 10 matches he has played for them.

is another player to watch in Spain’s squad. the RB Leipzig midfielder provided 2 assists for Spain in the Round of 16 match against Croatia.

Italy has so much quality in every position and they work so well as a unit that it is hard to pick only a handful of players but as Spain will most likely play their possession-based football, it will be Italy's attackers and midfielders who'll determine the winners of this match. Verratti could be instrumental in the transition from defense to attack and

alongside

will be able to hit them hard from the flanks. With both players providing skill, speed and quality delivery. Insigne's could also produce amazing long-range shots to test out Simon.

Prediction

While this contest could go either way, it’s undeniable that Italy are the favorites going into this match. the Azzuri have been dominating teams since the start of the tournaments and have beaten title favorites, Belgium, in their last match while Spain has been struggling against Croatia and Switzerland and on both occasions has gotten a win in the extra time or penalties. So for us, Italy will be a clear winner and could take down Spain with a 2-0 result.

Spain vs Italy Referees

The German Felix Brych will officiate the clash between Spain and Italy. Brych is one FIFA and UEFA’s most distinguished referees having won multiple individual awards. He has been FIFA listed since 2004 and was the referee for the 2017 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus. He has been a part of 2 World Cups although his reputation was a bit tarnished after the 2018 World Cup where he was sent home due to making errors after only officiating one match.

Brych is accompanied by his compatriots, Mark Borsch and Stefan Lupp, as assistant referees on the pitch with the fourth and fifth officials, Sergei Karasev and Igor Demeshko, both being from Russia. Marco Fritz from Germany will be serving as the match’s Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and he is helped by Christian Dingert, Christian Gittelmann and Bastian Dankert, all from Germany as well.

Viewing Information

• Date: Tuesday, July 6

• Kick off Time: 21 GMT

• Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England

• TV: ESPN

• Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)

• Odds: Spain+220; Draw +210; Italy +140

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