Group B: Spain 1 (Calafori og 55) Italy 0
Spain will follow Germany into the knockout stages of the European Championships after as clean a victory as can be expected when having to find a way past Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It took 54 minutes of relentless probing to force the Azzurri error. Unsurprisingly, Nico Williams did the damage. The early candidate for breakout superstar at these Euros, Williams dribbled to the end line and delivered a low cross for Álvaro Morata to skim a header that Donnarumma could only touch off the leg of Riccardo Calafiori.
A cruel own goal, yes, but one-nil could have been 4-0 by the hour mark. Still, all night, it felt like Italian logic came to Gelsenkirchen in search of a Rope-a-Dope point.
Spain versus Italy quickly descended into Wile E. Coyote’s eternal pursuit of the Road Runner. Except, this one time, the Road Runner did not escape.
It was like watching a hunter against prey that refused to accept their seemingly inevitable fate. International football royalty against the aristocrats of the beautiful game, what turned this into a near classic was how the Italians embraced the Spanish rules of engagement.
Williams toyed with right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo while Pedri interchanged with Morata up top, as La Roja conjured three early chances that would yield goals if not for Donnarumma.
Italy are the defending European champions because of the giant Paris-Saint Germain netminder. England remember his penalty shootout saves at Wembley in 2021. How can they ever forget?
It took 88 seconds for the unplayable Williams to pick out little Pedri who caught a textbook header that Donnarumma denied with a sensational tip over his crossbar.
Fluid and direct, Williams also missed the target with a central header.
How would these relatively callow Italians cope? The answer was out-balls. With Nicolò Barella refusing to be overawed in midfield and Federico Dimarco tearing up left at every opportunity, Luciano Spalletti’s tactics were unmistakable; soak up the magnificence of Rodri, 16 year old Lamine Yamal and Williams before sucker-punching Spain in transition.
Or lose trying.
High stakes, especially with Morata almost scoring off Yamal’s freakish ability to create space and Fabián Ruiz walloping a shot that required more heroics from Donnarumma.
The half-time statistics belied the 0-0 scoreline: Spain had 60 per cent possession and had five shots (four on target to zero from the Azzurri). Both sides took nine lumps out of each other but only two yellow cards, one each, appeared due to Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić only punishing Donnarumma verbals and Rodri, who is suspended for Albania on Monday in Dusseldorf.
Come the second half, Andrea Cambiaso and Bryan Cristante relieved Jorginho and Davide Frattesi in a packed middle third. But the song remained the same.
Spain looked capable of scoring at any moment. When Williams drew a flock of whites shirts, Marc Cucurella overlapped and cut back for Pedro but this first touch extravaganza could not break the big man.
Unlike England against Serbia and Denmark, the Spanish attitude to scoring was to keep on keeping on.
Yamal was an inch shy of rattling the top corner of the net. The teenager is special, already as impactful as Williams, despite their five year age gap.
Speaking of miles on the clock, Spalletti has waited decades for this opportunity. Last year the 65 year old delivered the Scudetto to Naples, the first league title since Diego Maradona’s heyday, so he hardly lacks the ability to evolve. Ruthlessly, he replaced Gianluca Scamacca and Federico Chiesa with Mateo Retegui and Mattia Zaccagni.
Nothing changed. The stadium reverberated to the sound of “Nico, Nico, Nico” when Williams once again skinned Di Lorenzo before pounding an effort off the crossbar.
Spain were so dominant that coach Luis De La Fuente removed Yamal and Pedro with 20 minutes remaining while Williams and Morata followed after 78 minutes.
And still, Italy’s plan was working. Just one chance and the great escape would become a reality. That moment came on 73 minutes when Robin Le Normand fouled Lorenzo Pellegrini to give Italy’s number 10 a chance to sicken an increasingly nervous Spanish crowd. His free-kick was high and wide.
85th minute: an Italian corner from Giacomo Raspadori had 21 players in the Spanish half. 18 in the box. Bryan Cristante flicked the low delivery that was easily claimed by Unai Simón.
Suddenly the champions were in control. Spain held it together.
Spain: Simón; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Pedri (Baena, 71), Rodri, Ruiz; Yamal (Torres, 71), Morata (Oyarzabal, 75), Williams (Pérez, 78).
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Barella, Jorginho (Cristante, 46); Chiesa (Zaccagni, 64), Pellegrini (Raspadori, 82), Frattesi (Cambiaso, 46); Scamacca (Retegui, 64)
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia).
