Italy and Spain head to London’s Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, with both nations hoping to book their spot in the final of Euro 2020.
Remarkably, the two sides meet in the knockout stages of the European Championship for the fourth tournament in a row.
Wishing 2006 World Cup winner @GilaGilardino all the best on his 3⃣9⃣th birthday! 🎂 #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/Nvaz2NzjQ0— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@azzurri) July 5, 2021
Wishing 2006 World Cup winner @GilaGilardino all the best on his 3⃣9⃣th birthday! 🎂 #Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/Nvaz2NzjQ0
Spain qualified for the semi-finals thanks to a dramatic penalty-shootout victory over Switzerland in Saint Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Italy survived a late Belgian rally to beat Roberto Martinez’s team 2-1 at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
Eye-catching strikes from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne saw the Azzurri take a healthy lead into half-time against Belgium.
Despite facing ten shots in Munich, Roberto Mancini’s side managed to hold on and book their place in the last four.
The Italians’ phenomenal unbeaten streak now stands at 32 games, with their last defeat coming all the way back in September 2018.
Having won each of their previous 13 matches in all competitions, it’s safe to say that Italy will be extremely difficult to beat on Tuesday.
Let’s not forget that Mancini’s men have also kept 14 clean sheets in their previous 17 encounters, as well as scoring over 1.5 goals in 12 of their last 13.
Still, it is worth pointing out that Spain are also enjoying an impressive unbeaten run of their own at the moment.
Luis Enrique’s men haven’t lost any of their previous 13 games in all competitions, although six draws have come in that time.
After drawing with Sweden and Poland, Spain scraped through to the knockouts at the eleventh hour by thrashing Slovakia 5-0 in their final group game.
Enrique’s side then hammered Croatia 5-3 in the last 16 before overcoming Switzerland in dramatic circumstances.
Despite seeing 73% possession and racking up 28 shots, Spain required extra-time and penalties to dispatch the Swiss.
Head-to-head: Interestingly, Italy have only managed to win one of their last eight meetings with Spain (three draws, four losses).
However, the Italians did knock Spain out of Euro 2016 with a 2-0 victory in the round of 16 at Stade de France, Paris.
Team news: Italy will be without Leonardo Spinazzola on Tuesday after the full-back, who has been one of the standout players at Euro 2020, ruptured his Achilles tendon against Belgium.
Spain have no injury worries, although Enrique may opt to freshen up his starting XI after each of Spain’s last two games went to extra-time.
This is destined to be a closely-fought encounters between two evenly-matches sides, meaning Tuesday’s semi-final could go all the way.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Italy and Spain will dish up a low-scoring draw after 90 minutes, with extra-time and penalties on the cards.