Half-Time
By half-time, Spain had been left shell-shocked. Not only had Italy countered well, they had also matched the Spaniards in passing and possession. The stats read 48% possession compared to 52% for the Iberians. They had conceded 7 shots, of which 4 were on target and attempted just 2, with a weak Iniesta effort their only shot on goal. Spain had had just the single pass inside Italy’s area.
Spain hadn’t attempted this few shots in a first half at the Euros since the 1-1 draw against Greece in 2004. Unlike the defeats against Netherlands and Chile in the World Cup, the opposition here were not solely relying on hitting them on the counter but outplaying them on all fronts. They had been overawed by Conte’s tactics and its execution by his troops.
Second Half
Changes were imminent for Spain as Nolito was hauled off for Aritz Aduriz who needed another presence upfront but also because Nolito had had a poor game. The Athletic Bilbao striker went up front with Morata moving to the left but the half started in almost identical fashion and within seconds Italy had swarmed forward in numbers from the right wing but Pique managed to block Florenzi’s drilled cross and even the corner was a dangerous one, cleared by Ramos.
But Spain started exerting pressure after that and from their own corner played short, Morata had a glorious chance but in the process of pushing his marker, he could only get a weak connection on his header straight to Buffon. Fabregas found Iniesta and then Silva on the edge of the box though both the situations fizzled out.
Thiago Motta replaced De Rossi who had picked up a knock on his left thigh and Italy lost further control in midfield missing De Rossi’s vertical passing to break the lines. However, they did have a couple of good opportunities to extend their lead. First, when Parolo found Pelle who had come short and his first-time flick took Ramos out of the game. Eder went through on goal but De Gea stood tall and denied him.
Then another quick attack led to De Sciglio crossing across the face of goal with De Gea spilling it but he deserved his luck for having kept Spain in the game.
Spain unable to break Italy’s defence
Although Spain had penned Italy back for large parts of the second half and were carving out half chances, they weren’t really troubling Buffon. Most of the play was happening in front of the defence and there was a lack of movement coupled by stiff resistance from a solid defence.
Lucas Vasquez was introduced for Morata to add penetration in the attack from the right wing with Silva moving infield. Ramos and Aduriz had headed attempts off target before Pique and Iniesta tested Buffon with left footed long range efforts.
Pedro was thrown as a last resort although Aduriz had picked up a head injury after landing badly as the likes of Koke and Thiago remained on the bench. Pedro came close to reaching on the end of Silva’s cutback and Pique had the final chance which came from a long De Gea free kick but his effort was smartly saved by Buffon.
Having run his socks off, Eder was replaced by Insigne and the substitute was to play a part in the move which led to the second goal. His crossfield pass from the left wing found Florenzi’s replacement, Darmian who would proceed to tee Pelle via a deflection to kill the game off. Motta too was involved in the build-up and it was a fitting conclusion to the match.
Spain only managed 4 touches in the Italian box, 19 less than what they did in the 2012 final. They simply could not find a way past the organised defence.
Supreme fitness levels
While the tactical side of the Italian’s game was better than anything the tournament has produced so far, especially in the first half, their physical fitness and conditioning also deserves a mention. They were in great shape for the best part of the match while their opponents ran out of gas towards the end, lack of any rotation hampering them. Conte’s rotation no doubt helped them in being at the top of their game which saw the players run a combined 116 kilometres in the match.
It was 3 km down from a remarkable 119 km they clocked against Belgium but the entire tournament average is 108 km while only one other team has broken the 115 km barrier in 90 minutes so far. Giaccherini was immense, covering 13km and it was no wonder that he was all over the pitch. This shows the supreme levels Conte demands, and his players deliver.
Man of the Match – Graziano Pelle
At the time Euro 2012, Pelle was playing in the Serie B and was able to sign for Feyenoord because he met a friend of Ronald Koeman's son on a vacation in Ibiza. 4 years on, he put in a great centre-forward display to knock the holders of the competition out, capping his fine performance with a breakaway goal. He troubled Pique and Ramos and had a fantastic first half, dropping deep between the lines and linking up with wide players which was such an important part of Italy’s play.
The opening goal came from a freekick which had been conceded after he was fouled by Ramos in exactly the same position. He almost laid off another for Eder with an imaginative flick. In a tournament where strikers have been inhibited, Pelle has shone so far.
Conclusion
“It looks like coincidence,” Emanuele Giaccherini told reporters post game, “instead it is a project. All week we prepared this game down to the tiniest detail and il mister did a great job giving us the right concepts to face this team.”
Conte has been noted to be a coach obsessed with details. Apparently, footage emerged last night of Conte telling Chiellini where he needed to be in the wall just before Italy’s opener. It was a well-worked free-kick with two Italians on the outside of the wall who then were first to the loose ball.
This was just the goal, the match as a whole was won by detailed tactical nous and the first half was one of the best in the tournament. Italy not only out thought and outsmarted the champions, they also matched them blow for blow and came out on top. It seemed as if the Spanish weren’t prepared that Italy would look to out pass them
Spain went on to concede 7 shots on target which was their worst in the Euros since 1984 against Germany. And it was all down to the perfect execution of Conte’s plan.
Conte: We have shown that Italy is not catenaccio. Ideas can beat talent
The Spanish era of dominance has been put to bed in was a big statement by Italy and the win sets up another mouth watering clash, this time with the World Champions Germany. The Italians haven’t lost in 8 meetings at World Cups and Euros against them.
