The scoreline of 1-0 could have been worse if Gigi Donnaruma was not there. In the group of death, the encounter between Spain and Italy was dubbed as The Clasico, but at the end of the match, the defending champions Italy were nowhere near the Spanish side who racked up 20 shots on goal and 50 attacks. Spain literally sliced Italy into pieces.
The Spanish
plan was to take on the full-backs and dominate the flanks as much as possible.
Italy would keep the midfield defensive and backline solid for which the attacks
must be orchestrated by targeting the wide areas.
As
expected, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal were relentless.
From the
word go, Nico Williams went wide, raced past Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and
delivered a beautiful cross from which Pedri forced the first of eight saves
from Donnarumma.
Later on,
Williams would attack from the inside and rear from the outside.
Di Lorenzo
was experiencing nightmares.
Di Lorenzo
wasn’t alone in his suffering, either.
On the
other side, Federico Dimarco had almost as bad a time.
Lamine
Yamal delivered the first dangerous ball with the match just four minutes old,
a warning that he too would not let up.
It was the
night of two young Spanish wingers, who were fast, impeccable and fearless.
Again,
their wonderful display could not overshadow the performances of Dani Carvajal,
Marc Cucurella, Pedri, Rordi, Fabian Ruiz and the skipper Alvaro Morata.
What
happened to Italy? It seemed they were struggling to find a place in this new
world. Talent is not the factor here; the problem lies in the attitude
and exhibiting the true philosophy of Italian football. Italy has forgotten
that their greatness lies in Catenacchio and over the years, ignoring that
tactic has not been fruitful.
Note: Excerpts from the The Guardian
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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