Matchday 2 of the UEFA Euro 2024 will see Spain taking on Italy on 21st June from 12:30 AM IST at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The three-time champions Spain and the defending champions Italy will face off in what could be a potential decider on who will end up finishing at the top of Group B.
Spain, currently topping the Group with a +3 goal difference, is also the joint-most successful team in the history of the competition with 3 title wins to their name. However, since their last triumph in 2012, they failed at the ‘Round of 16’ hurdle in 2016 and were the losing semi-finalists in Euro 2020.
Interestingly, it was the Azzurri that La Roja fell to the last time around, so there is no doubt that revenge will be on their minds this time around while also ensuring they potentially seek a spot in the knockouts.
Italy sits 2nd in the group with as many points as Spain but with a +1 goal difference only. With 2 titles to their name, the Azzurris come into the competition with a lot of history but their aura has been waning since that magical night at Wembley in 2021.
They failed to make the cut for the 2022 Qatar World Cup after losing to minnows North Macedonia in the playoffs and their results in the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2024 were not very appealing either.
Head coach Roberto Mancini resigned 2 games into the campaign while new boss Luciano Spalleti saw his side draw against North Macedonia and Ukraine to somehow steer their way into this year’s edition.
The fact that in their first game against Albania, they conceded the fastest goal ever in European Championship history and the fact that only one team has ever successfully defended their Euro title makes this position all the more precarious for Italy.
Current Form
Both sides are coming off victories in their opener, with Spain dismantling Luka Modric’s Croatia 3-0 with strikes from Luka Modric, Fabian Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal. Italy registered a 2-1 win over Albania with all 3 goals coming in the first half. After trailing right in the first minute, Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella helped the defending champions avoid an ignominious defeat.
Head to Head Record
The two sides have faced each other 36 times, with Spain having 14 victories to their name while Italy have 10.
Spain has won the last 3 games these two have faced off against each other, with the last one being a 2-1 win for La Roja in the UEFA Nations League semi-final last year. Yeremi Pino and Joselu bagged the goals for the winning side while Ciro Immobile scored from the spot for Italy.
Team News
Chiesa would need to recapture his form from Euro 2020
For Spain, Alvaro Morata came off injured against Croatia but should be fit before this clash. The duo of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams who both grabbed attention upfront are expected to line up alongside Morata again.
For Italy, Federico Chiesa was substituted with an injury concern with 10 minutes to go against Albania but as per reports, he should be back in action as well in Gelsenkirchen. Luciano Spalleti is expected to go with an unchanged side for this game.
Predicted Starting XIs
Spain(4-3-3): Unai Simon; Dani Carvajal, Robin le Normand, Nacho, Marc Cucurella; Pedri, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Alvaro Morata, Nico Williams
Italy(4-2-3-1): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni de Lorenzo, Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori, Federico Dimarco; Jorginho, Nicolo Barella; Federico Chiesa, Davide Frattesi, Lorenzo Pellegrini; Gianluca Scamacca
Prediction
Going by recent form, Spain is the absolute favorite without a shadow of a doubt. La Roja is likely to dominate possession and it is more than likely that Italy might revert to a 3-man defence with 2 wing backs to deal with Spain’s front three.
Scamacca, who was red hot for Atalanta with 19 goals will have to put away his poor form behind him for Italy which has seen him score only once in 15 appearances for his team to have any chance of nicking a point or three.