Tactical Analysis: Spain vs. Italy

After one of the most entertaining nights of Euro 2020, Italy won only their 5th penalty shootout in their footballing history. It only took 23 shots, two magnificent goals and 120 minutes of semi-final football to get to the nail-biting conclusion. In the first half, it became very apparent that Spain were not going to let Italy play through midfield like they have done so far at Euro 2020.

The front line dropped back to help man-mark Jorginho, Nicolo Barella, and Marco Verratti, limiting Roberto Mancini's side to just 1 shot in the first half. The next 45 minutes brought us goals though. First, Italy made a superb counter attack that included a delightful outside-of-the-boot ball from Lorenzo Insigne, which was then intercepted brilliantly by Aymeric Laporte, but only to seal a sensational finish from Federico Chiesa. His curling shot left Unai Simon glued to the turf, and sent Wembley into pandemonium.

With 10 minutes left and Spain pushing, Luis Enrique’s side found their equaliser through a rare bit of total chaos from Italy. Alvaro Morata was allowed first to drop deep to the centre circle, then make a 180-degree turn and arrow straight through a strangely empty Italian midfield. A simple one-two with Dani Olmo gave him the space to finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Player Analysis: Dani Olmo