Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Spain v Italy in Gelsenkirchen. This, with a respectful nod to the previous 17 games, is the first heavyweight clash of Euro 2024. It’s also a familiar one, the sixth meeting between Spain and Italy in the last five European Championships. Usually they cross paths in the knockout stages, which may happen again this year, but tonight is about qualifying with a game to spare and making a statement of tournament-winning intent.
It’s probably a bigger game for the reigning champions Italy, who have a tougher final match (against Croatia) and will be vulnerable if they lose tonight. They started with a 2-1 win over Albania that was both impressive and nervy, while Spain were slightly flattered by their 3-0 win over Croatia. Even so there was plenty to catch the eye, most notably the performance of the astonishing 16-year-old Lamine Yamal.
“Spain vs Italy is a classic game, it could very easily be the final,” said the Spain coach Luis de La Fuente. “They have great players, a great coach, and a real football culture. They’re one of the great national teams.”
As are Spain after their unprecedented success between 2008 and 2012. A key rite of passage was their penalty shootout victory over Italy, who had been their nemesis at major tournaments, in the quarter-final of Euro 2008.
“This is one of the most important matches of my career; I’ve already been through some important games but this is right up there,” says Luciano Spalletti. “This is one of those matches that could give the players a tale to tell in the future.”
Kick off 8pm.