Spain give Italy nightmares

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. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar