Italy take on Spain in the semi-finals of EURO 2020 at Wembley, with this match being a rematch of the EURO 2012 final, which Spain won convincingly by a 4-0 margin. More recently, these two sides also faced each other at EURO 2016, with the Italians prevailing 2-0 on that occasion in the round of 16. Roberto Mancini has engineered a complete turnaround in Italys fortunes since their dismal failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and the Azzurri are arguably even better than Spain at possession football at the moment. They certainly have one of the best midfields of the tournament so far, and with the Spanish trio of Sergio Busquets, Koke and Pedri not too far behind, this is set to be a superb clash, with both teams trying to play on the front foot and dominate possession. Luis Enrique has a couple of selection dilemmas to consider which could make or break this Spain side, and in this tactical preview, we will look at both teams expected tactics and how we think this game could play out.
Lineups
Italy will unfortunately be without Leonardo Spinazzola, who ruptured his Achilles tendon in the win over Belgium, and is expected to be out for months. Mancini will most probably bring in Emerson Palmieri of Chelsea in at left-back instead, and while the Brazilian is a decent player, he will struggle to offer the same thrust and incision that Spinazzola did. The rest of the side is expected to be the same as the one that defeated Belgium in the quarter-final.
Spain also have an injury issue of their own, as Enrique confirmed that Pablo Sarabia will miss this game with an injury picked up in the penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland. He is likely to be replaced by Dani Olmo in the lineup, although Gerard Moreno could also come in, while in defence, we expect Enrique to restore Eric Garcia to the XI instead of Pau Torres, who once again failed to convince in his previous outing.
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