EURO 2024: Spain vs. Italy

Introduction

The second matchday of Group B at EURO 2024 sees Spain face off against Italy in Gelsenkirchen. Both teams are looking to build on their opening matches, with Spain seeking to extend their lead at the top of the group and Italy aiming to bounce back from their draw against Albania. In this analysis, we will examine the key statistics, team news, and predictions for this crucial encounter.

Team News and Form

Spain

• Form: Spain have a strong record in the UEFA European Championship, winning the tournament three times (1964, 2008, and 2012).
• Recent Form: Spain have lost just one of their last 11 competitive matches (W7 D3), going down 2-1 against Switzerland in the 2022 World Cup.
• Key Players: Alvaro Morata has scored a goal in each of his last three matches against Italy. Only against Croatia (2018-2019), Portugal (2019-2021) and Switzerland (2022) has he ever scored in four consecutive international appearances.

Italy

• Form: Italy have a rich history in the UEFA European Championship, winning the tournament two times (1968 and 2020).
• Recent Form: Italy have lost just one of their last 12 matches (W8 D3), going down 2-1 against Spain in the 2022 World Cup.
• Key Players: Alessandro Bastoni has scored a goal in each of his last two matches against Spain. Only against Lithuania (2018-2019), Luxembourg (2019-2021) and Portugal (2019-2021) has he ever scored in three consecutive international appearances.

Predictions and Analysis

• Opta Supercomputer: Spain are the favourites to win this match, coming out on top in 45.8% of the Opta supercomputer's pre-match simulations. Italy are left with a 27.5% chance of winning.
• Recent Head-to-Head: Spain have won their last two matches against Italy in the UEFA Nations League, but Italy have never lost three consecutive matches against Spain.
• Key Insights: Spain have kept five consecutive clean sheets in group stage matches at the Euros, which is a tournament record. Italy have won none of the previous three meetings (D1 L2), scoring only one goal in the process, Giacomo Raspadori’s goal in the semi-final of Euro 2020.

Conclusion

In this crucial match, both teams will be looking to build on their opening matches. Spain will be relying on their strong record against Italy and key players like Alvaro Morata to secure a positive result. Italy, on the other hand, will be counting on their impressive form and key players like Alessandro Bastoni to regain momentum. With both teams having a history of causing upsets in this competition, this match is likely to be a closely contested and intense encounter.

The Bad Tackle

I'll give one later.