Luis de la Fuente’s tenure in charge of Spain has gotten off to a rocky start but that can change with victory in the Netherlands, after Alvaro Morata’s last-gasp goal to edge Portugal in Group 2 secured the latest of qualifications to these finals.
The pair are two of European football’s biggest rivals, with their most infamous recent meeting coming in Italy’s Euro 2020 semifinal penalty shootout win over La Roja, as Roberto Mancini’s side went on to beat England in the final.
Roberto Mancini’s Italy finished first in a group featuring Hungary, Germany, and England. He will want to bring more European glory back to the country after failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Both teams will take a break from their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, for the Nations League final series, with the prospect of facing tournament hosts the Netherlands or Croatia in the final.
Luis de la Fuente’s tenure in charge of Spain has gotten off to a rocky start but that can change with victory in the Netherlands, after Alvaro Morata’s last-gasp goal to edge Portugal in Group 2 secured the latest of qualifications to these finals.
Spain and Italy square off in a semifinal match at De Grolsch Veste on Thursday as the UEFA Nations League Semifinal resumes play with a new round of games this week. Back in 2021, La Roja won the match before losing to France in the championship match.
In this case, the winner advances to play either Croatia or the Netherlands in the championship game on Sunday.
Spain won their last match against Italy, 2-1, on October 6, 2021, in the semifinal of the Nations League. Only once have La Roja achieved two successes in a row against the Azzurri, between 1971 and 1978 (two friendlies in that case).
Italy could get to the Nations League final for the first time, while Spain have already played in the final in the previous edition when they lost 1-2, against France, on October 10, 2021.
The monumental clash between the two European powerhouses will be hosted at the De Grolsch Veste in the Netherlands on June 16. These two countries last met in the semi-final of the EURO 2020 when Italy picked up a thrilling victory after a penalty shootout.
