We knew the level of competition between Italy’s first and second games of the Euro 2024 group stage was going to be a big step up. And for an Italy squad that, on the whole, is not nearly as talented as the one that won this same tournament three years prior, that test was going to be a true gauge of where the Azzurri are at.
Well, I think we know now.
There was a well-oiled machine running on all cylinders at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday night ... and then there was Italy. It may read like a 1-0 win for Spain over the reigning European champions, but it was very much nothing close to an even kind of game. Spain dominated Italy for much of the 90 minutes, overrunning the Azzurri in midfield and using every bit of their speed and creativity out on the wings to give Italy’s fullbacks absolute fits from the start to the final whistle. If it weren’t for Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of Italy’s starring men from Euro 2020(1) three years ago, then this would have been much, much worse than what it ended up being on the scoreboard.
The Spanish press hyped Nico Williams and 16-year-old Lamine Yamal as two Ferraris going against the Italians in the build-up to this one. Well, let me just say this: John Elkann certainly hopes his two Ferraris perform that well in Spain this weekend to try and return some sort of favor. I’ll leave it at that.
Absurd that game finished 1-0 with an own goal. 5-0 wouldn't have been unfair.
— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) June 20, 2024
Yeah, pretty much what Mr. Michael Cox, maker of Zonal Marking (those who know, know), said. There is no way other than “Donnarumma was an absolute hero in goal” as to why Spain’s only goal came from an own goal off the thigh of Riccardo Calafiori. If not for Donnarumma making world-class save after world-class save, this would have been carnage. This would have been very, very bad, people. Italy were outmatched, outclassed, and every other way to describe that type of thing happening.
And yet, there they were, with a corner kick in the final minute of stoppage time having a legitimate chance to tie the game up if things actually bounced their way for a change.
Of course it didn’t, but that just tells you how much Donnarumma’s efforts contributed to his team actually having a chance to get something out of this game.
But the biggest thing is simply how bad Spain made Italy look. It didn’t matter if it was Williams on the left wing, Yamal on the right wing or Spain’s midfield absolutely running the show, Italy quickly found out that this was going to be a different kind of beast as compared to what we saw back on Saturday against Albania.
Italy didn’t have any sort of answer. Luciano Spalletti didn’t have any sort of answer. Yeah, things got a little better as the final 10-15 minutes, but there really wasn’t much room to go any lower than how they were playing even though the scoreboard still said it was 1-0.
Spain deserved to win. Hell, Spain deserved to win 4-0 or 5-0. If it ended up being that kind of final score, you wouldn’t have been surprised. It was just that kind of deal where one team was so much better than the other.
I’m going to go and figure out how the heck it was 1-0 at the final whistle. Because Italy deserved to lose by more than just one goals. At least we know why that happened.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS
- (Insert line about Calafiori’s transfer price going down and Cristiano Giuntoli calling Bologna right after the final whistle right here)
- So if Spain had their two Ferraris up front, what did Italy have? Maybe a FIAT? (Hi, John!)
- I liked Italy’s first group stage game a lot better. Well, not including the first 30 seconds or so. This was just bad news from the start.
- This felt like Gigio Donnarumma and 10 dudes who looked out of their depth.
- Through the first half hour, Italy had two touches in Spain’s penalty area. That’s not great — yet it’s totally indicative of how this one started. Just all Spain all the time.
- It’s first shot of the night, via Federico Chiesa, came in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. That’s not great, either.
- For those of you ripping Federico Chiesa for his performance, I want you to also consider this: Chiea’s average positioning was just barely at the mdifield line. Or, to be more specific, just barely in his own defensive half of the field. It’s kinda hard for Chiesa to be Chiesa when he’s having to help Giovanni Di Lorenzo so much that he’s basically serving as a second fullback.
- All that said, not a great night for Chiesa. This was proven correctly when he had one of his few ventures forward into the attacking third and he subsequently blasted a shot well high and wide of the Spain goal.
- Italy’s midfield ... woof.
- I love Andrea Cambiaso, but him being one of the first players off the bench and it being in his unnatural advanced position pretty much tells you all you need to know about this Italy roster.
- Jorginho ... woof.
- Bryan Cristante ... woof.
- Jorginho barely misplayed any of his 1,000 passes against Albania. But against Spain, Jorginho attempted 31 passes, completed 81% of them and rightfully got the hook at halftime.
- The problem is, there isn’t really anybody who is capable of changing the game on Italy’s bench when you take off Jorginho at halftime.
- Here’s Spain rolling out a 30-year-old Aymeric Laporte who plays in Saudi Arabia against Italy also tells you all you need to know about the state of Italy’s attack (and roster).
- Spain’s xG, depending on where you find it, was around 2.
- Italy’s xG, depending on where you find it, was around 0.15.
- One of those things is most definitely not like the other.
- Italy apparently had a shot on goal and I don’t even remember it. Is that bad? (I think it is.)
- Spain big chances: 5
- Italy big chances: 0
- Spain shots: 20
- Italy shots: 4
- Whether it’s old-fashioned numbers or more advanced stats, this was Spain absolutely dismantling Italy everywhere other than what the final score showed us.
- Now the group stage final against Croatia on Monday becomes that much more important. Let’s see which Italy shows up because it feels like if they play anywhere close to how they did against Spain, they’re probably going home early and making plans to head to their favorite beaches.
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2024-06-20 21:45:00Z
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