After winning the opening match, Spain and Italy will compete this evening at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen with the aim of gaining a pass for the round of 16 with a round to spare. Not only that: by virtue of the 2-2 draw achieved last night in Croatia-Albania, a success will guarantee the team that prevails first place in the group.
It is one of the most awaited matches of the group stage, a match that Luciano Spalletti will want to face without distorting the identity of an Italy that wants to challenge the red furies with the same attitude shown on Saturday evening in Dortmund: “Spain has become Spain because it has always played the same football, it has become so recognized because it has had the courage to maintain the same idea of football over time, the same demand and availability on the part of the players. Since sometimes we talk about of international football, we talk about comparison with football schools that are more defined than ours, I say that to get to those levels you have to do as they did, always repeating the same idea of football”.
A few hours later, de la Fuente, in a press conference, showed great respect for Luciano Spalletti’s national team: “The Italian team is very similar to ours, Italy has changed since Spalletti was there, there are many very young players. We also played against them during the European Championship, they have many quality players on their team. individual level and also experienced players. It will be a bit like looking in the mirror.”
Spain-Italy, the probable lineups
Spain (4-3-3) – Unai Simon, Carvajal, Le Normand, Nacho, Cucurella; Pedri, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Yamal, Morata, Nico Williams. Available: Raya, Remiro, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Olmo, Ferran Torres, Grimaldo, Laporte, Alex Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Jesus Navas, Fermin Lopez, Perez. Technical commissioner: Luis de la Fuente.
Italy (4-2-3-1) – Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Jorginho, Barella; Chiesa, Frattesi, Pellegrini; Scamacca. Available: Vicario, Meret, Gatti, Buongiorno, Mancini, Darmian, Bellanova, Cambiaso, Cristante, Fagioli, Folorunsho, El Shaarawy, Zaccagni, Retegui. Technical commissioner: Luciano Spalletti.
Referee: Slavko Vinčić.
