A masterclass. Italy beat Spain 3-2 and are marching on to Sunday’s final against Portugal, who thrashed Norway (5-0) in the other semifinal. The Azzurrini established complete supremacy over the Spaniards; their aggression, technical and tactical ability knocked their opponents off their feet. Italy absolutely dominated the first half, executing everything perfectly except finding the net but it all happened in the second half. Italy were always on top and the Spaniards were always chasing, holding on at points but never getting a grip on the game. Vignato found the net first, then Barberà equalised, then Pisili before Gasiorowski made it level again and finally Lipani put the seal on a great Azzurri victory. A radiant Bollini had this to say: “The boys were fantastic. We were playing today against one of the best teams in the world, in terms of technical ability and individual quality. Until this point, they hadn’t been beaten when conceding only two goals, which shows they can really impose their own game on their opponents. Today we were able to win with both good heart and a great performance. We’ve climbed the mountain and on Sunday, against Portugal, we will try to conquer the summit.”

The match. Alberto Bollini reintroduced the 4-3-3 (3-5-2 against Poland) by starting Alessandro Dellavalle, with his cousin Lorenzo to form the central defensive pairing, on the right Missori, left Regonesi; the midfield three, Pisilli on the right, Faticanti to the left and Hasa free to roam the centre; Esposito at centre forward, a new position for Kayode on the right of the attack, lending consistency to Italy out of possession by closing the attacking lines, and on the left, Vignato, charged with taking care of the left flank and dropping back for the Spanish counter-attacks. A first half decidedly won on points by Italy, forcing the Spaniards into their half and creating lots of chances, even if they couldn’t convert them. The match started with the Kayode-Esposito duo linking up magnificently, first in the 8th minute and then in the 13th, but Iribarne saved the Inter forward’s header. In the 16th minute, Dellavalle unleashed a wicked right-footed shot from outside the area, not far off. Kayode, an all-rounded attacker, defending his box and providing an offensive threat, pulled off a delicious nutmeg but his shot was just wide. In the 37th minute, a wayward clearance fell into the path of Pisilli which he thundered towards the net. The ball went through Iribarne, bouncing on the line to claims of a goal from the Azzurrini, but Israeli referee, Frid, waved play on. A corner just before half-time cleared by a Spanish head fell onto the right foot of Faticanti, whose volley flew just past the post. Mastrantonio was not particularly troubled in the first half, with nothing notable except some routine saves from Barcelona starlet, Akhomach. 

The second half began with a deflected shot from Pisilli in the 49th minute before Hasa played Vignato through in the 52nd. His powerful left-footed shot left Iribarne no chance, 1-0 Italy. Josè Lana ran to the bench to make his substitutions, and Spain began to play until they finally found the equaliser: Barberà, in the 57th minute, dug out a wonderful finish, just below the crossbar, out of Mastrantonio’s reach. Italy did not give up, however, hitting the crossbar only five minutes later, and in the 66th minute, advantage Italy: Pisilli skipped through the challenges and slotted the ball past Iribarne into the bottom left. The excitement did not end there, as Spain went blow-for-blow; Italy didn’t manage to clear a free kick and Valencia defender, Gaslorowski stuck out a leg and found the equaliser, 2-2. The substitute, Koleosho, made the difference in the 85th minute, winning a corner from his deflected shot; Hasa floated it up towards Lipani, who had come on in place of Faticanti, and scored the winning goal. Italy in the final and on Sunday they will face the Portuguese, who swept Norway aside, winning 5-0.

Spain-Italy 2-3

Scorers: 52' Vignato, 58' Barberá, 66' Pisilli, 74' Gaslorowski, 85' Lipani.

SPAIN (4-4-2) : Bruno; Fresneda, Arnau Casas, Yarek, Álex Valle; Gonzalo (57' Dani Rodríguez), Manuel Ángel (88' David Jiménez), Palacios (81' Edgar), Dani Pérez (57' Assane Diao); Ilias Akomach (C), Barberá (81' Samu). Unused Subs: Astralaga (GK), Félix, Simo, Aleix Garrido. Coach:  José Lana.

ITALY (4-3-3): Mastrantonio; Missori [C], Dellavalle L., Dellavalle A., Regonesi; Pisilli (90'+3 Amatucci), Faticanti (C) (69' Lipani), Hasa; Kayode, Esposito (90'+3 Turco), Vignato (69' Koleosho). Unused Subs:  Palmisani (GK), Chiarodia, D'Andrea, Bozzolan. Coach: Bollini.

Referee, Yigal Frid (ISR); Assistenti, Morim (LUX) e Kempter (GER); IV Official, Barbara (MLT)

Bookings: Pisilli, Hasa, Fresneda, Diao, Palmisani, Lipani

The Semifinals

Thursday 13 July

Portugal-Norway 5-0

Spain-ITALY 2-3

Final

Sunday 16 July

Italy-Portugal, 21:00 (CEST), Tà Qali National Stadium, live coverage on Rai Channels

 

The Squad: 

Goalkeepers: Davide Mastrantonio (Triestina), Lorenzo Palmisani (Frosinone);
Defenders: Andrea Bozzolan (Milan), Fabio Christian Chiarodia (Borussia M.), Alessandro Dellavalle (Torino), Lorenzo Dellavalle (Juventus), Michael Olabode Kayode (Fiorentina), Filippo Missori (Sassuolo), Iacopo Regonesi (Atalanta);
Midfielders: Lorenzo Amatucci (Fiorentina), Giacomo Faticanti (Roma), Luca Lipani (Genoa), Cher Ndour (Benfica), Niccolò Pisilli (Roma);
Attackers: Luca D'Andrea (Sassuolo), Francesco Pio Esposito (Inter), Luis Hasa (Juventus), Luca Warrick Daeovie Koleosho (Espanyol), Nicolò Turco (Juventus), Samuele Vignato (Monza)