Spain can now sit back and relish the fact that the national team has earned qualification to the knockout stages with a match still to be played. The La Roja exhibited a dominant performance against Italy and were deservedly awarded a victory thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Riccardo Calafiori. The victory means that Spain is guaranteed the top spot in Group B irrespective of the result in their last match against Albania.
For the Italians, suddenly the path of qualification looks that more challenging. They will contest their final group match against Croatia on Monday, where anything other than a victory could leave their chances out of their own hands. It was rather a classic encounter between Spain and Italy, where the Spanish continued to come at their opponents and the Azzurri were content with dropping back in a low block.
Spain’s possession game proved too much for Italy
The way the game progressed did not create any surprises. Spain, as they so often do, controlled the majority of the possession. Their man-to-man press in the early stages proved to be troublesome for the Italians. Luciano Spalletti’s passive approach did not help the case any further as Italy was never able to stitch together dangerous passing sequences.
The former Napoli manager will attract loads of skepticism and criticism regarding his decisions. Federico Chiesa was one particular individual who looked out of sorts during his time on the field, which might be down to the positional decision by Spalletti. The 65-year-old coach will need to come up with a much more suited setup in the game against Croatia, which holds the key to the nation’s qualification.
Nico Williams steals the spotlight
Spain’s latest form and its huge potential is mainly down to its rapid wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. While the former has been the poster boy of soccer recently, the impact of his counterpart can not be understated. Nico Williams was the star of the show against Italy, constantly giving Giovanni Di Lorenzo a torrid time on Italy’s right side.
The 21-year-old created the most number of chances in the match and was crucial in the build-up to the only goal of the game. He also saw one of his shots hit the woodwork. Williams is linked with a move to FC Barcelona, and his performance tonight will surely drive interest from other top European clubs as well.