[Football- Nations League] 15.6/ 20:45 Spain- Italy
For the second time in two years, Spain and Italy will meet in the semi-finals of the Nations League. Then the Spaniards turned out to be better, winning 2:1, to later recognize the superiority of France in the final. Both teams finished in the group stage in the same way, going on trips with a knife at their throats. Both Spaniards and Italians had to beat their direct rivals in the fight for 1st place. In a fratricidal duel on Płw. Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in Iberia, while the Italians in Budapest beat Hungary 2-0. As a result, today's opponents jumped by 1 point from their rivals and could report to Enschede in the 2nd semi-final.
After an unimpressive performance at the World Cup in Qatar, where Spain advanced to the knockout rounds before being knocked out by Morocco, Luis Enrique was replaced by former under-19 and under-21 youth team coach Luis de la Fuente. The start to the job didn't go quite smoothly as he started Euro 2024 qualifying with a 3-0 win over Norway, but then came a well-deserved 2-0 defeat in Scotland that highlighted old problems. Now, De la Fuente stands a chance of winning his first trophy, provided he goes past the Italians and wins the subsequent final. He would become the first coach in the history of the Spanish national team to win any title in just his 4th match.
While the World Cup for Spain was a disappointment, the lack of participation in this event by the Italians was a shock, but the current coach Mancini surprisingly retained his job and now he can rehabilitate himself provided he qualified for the final and won the entire edition. Just like the Spaniards, the Italians did not start the qualifiers very well. Euro 2024 losing at home to England 1-2 and winning in Malta 2-0. Maybe Mancini and the players can sweeten the lives of fans who have been through a lot of disappointment in recent weeks. First, none of the three teams playing in all European cup finals managed to win even one, and a few days ago the U20 team lost the final clash at the World Cup in Argentina with Uruguay 1:0.
Both teams are approaching today's clash, of course, in completely different compositions than in the 2021 meeting described above. In the Spanish team, only 6 players from that period were in the match squad. For the first time since taking over the helm of the national team, De la Fuente appointed Jordi Alba for this meeting, who was missing in the March qualifying matches, and moreover, for the 92nd time, the former Barca player will wear the captain's armband. New Real M signing. Defender Fran Garcia has been called up in exchange for Juan Bernat. Dani Olmo is hoping to recover from a muscle injury he suffered in training but will likely start on the bench. Robin Le Normand can celebrate his Spanish citizenship by making his debut at center back. On the Italian side, both Domenico Berardi and Monza captain Matteo Pessina will be sidelined due to injury, while Roberto Mancini has eliminated the likes of Lecce's Alessandro Florenzi, Mattia Zaccagni and Federico Baschirotto. Giorgio Scalvini and Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali have been sent back to the youth team ahead of the upcoming European Under-21 Championship, but teenage forward Wilfried Gnonto will play in both the competition and the Nations League.
Up front is likely to be Mateo Retegui - who scored in both of his first two games for the Azzurr earlier this year - although the 24-year-old striker from Argentine club Tigre faces competition from Ciro Immobile, who is now fit.
As for the game itself, both teams are looking for stability in results, so their coaches may take a more cautious approach, especially at the end of a long, tough season. Several Italian players played until the very end of a difficult 2022/23 cup season, so Roberto Mancini could pay the price for such fatigue against a Spain that likes to make opponents work even with a small percentage of ball possession. For me personally the favorite to win are the Spaniards. It may turn out that one goal will determine the win and I will not be surprised if the meeting ends with their modest 1:0.
1 @2,30 Bet365
FT 2:1
[Football- Nations League] 15.6/ 20:45 Spain- Italy
1 @2,30
