Italy face Spain with spot in Euro 2020 final on the line

The first semifinal at Euro 2020 will be a blockbuster between Italy and Spain. The match, which will be played at Wembley, is expected to witness a turnout of nearly 60,000 spectators. Tuesday’s game is the latest episode in a burgeoning rivalry with the two football giants meeting in a fourth consecutive European Championship.

In Euro 2008, Spain emerged victorious at Vienna in a long-fought battle that was decided on penalties. In 2012, Spain again came out on top thrashing Italy 4-0 in the final. Italy finally got its revenge at Euro 2016, when they won 2-0 in the last 16.

Also read: Top 5 Spain vs Italy games before Euro 2020 semis

This time around, Italy will enter Wembley as favourites and will look to extend their unbeaten run of 32 games. In the quarterfinals, the Azzurri knocked out a formidable Belgium.

“We know that if we play the way we have in the last 30 matches or so then we can come away with a good result,” said Italy’s defensive stalwart Leonardo Bonucci on Monday.

While Italy have registered comprehensive wins at Euro 2020, Spain have faced some tough battles already. In the first knockout round, Luis Enrique‘s team beat Croatia 5-3 in extra time before edging Switzerland on penalties in the last eight.

Here are the starting lineups in Italy vs Spain

Italy (4-3-3)

Gianluigi Donnarumma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (capt), Emerson Palmieri; Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Marco Verratti; Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne

Coach: Roberto Mancini (ITA)

Spain (4-3-3)

Unai Simon; Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric Garcia, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets (capt), Koke; Mikel Oyarzabal, Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo

Coach: Luis Enrique (ESP)

Referee: Felix Brych (GER)

In the second semifinal, England will face Denmark on Wednesday.