ITALY and Spain meet at Wembley tonight for a place in the Euro 2020 final.
Both England and Denmark will be watching on with interest as the two in-form sides battle it out, with Roberto Mancini’s men having won every game they’ve played so far.
- Kick-off time: 8pm BST
- TV channel: BBC ONE
- Italy XI: To follow
- Spain XI: To follow
Follow ALL the build-up and action with our live blog below…
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What time does Italy vs Spain kick-off?
- Kick-off tonight is at 8pm BST.
- There will be 60,000 fans in attendance at the game, which is the biggest attendance the tournament will have seen so far.
What TV channel is it on and can I live stream?
- Italy’s semi-final with Spain will be shown live on BBC One.
- You can live stream the clash on the BBC iPlayer app, which is available for download onto your mobile, tablet device or Smart TV.
What is the team news?
One of the tournament’s most impressive players, Leonardo Spinazzola, suffered a cruel Achilles injury against Belgium, ruling him out for six months.
Emerson Palmieri is set to deputise at left-back, while Federico Chiesa looks set to keep Domenico Berardi out of the side at right wing.
Alessandro Florenzi has also recovered from a calf problem sustained in the first group game, but Giovanni Di Lorenzo should continue at right-back after his impressive performances.
For Spain, winger Pablo Sarabia is unlikely to feature after suffering a muscle injury against Switzerland.
Dani Olmo is likely to replace him, while Alvaro Morata continues ahead of Gerard Moreno in attack.
SEMI-SONIC SPAIN
You won’t find many pundits across the BBC and ITV backing Spain this evening, but they would do well to recall La Roja’s unblemished record when it comes to the semi-finals of European Championships.
The Spanish have won ALL four of their previous matches at this stage of the competition, going on to lift the trophy three times in 1984, 2008 and 2012.
- 2-1 v Hungary AET (Madrid, 1964)
- 1-1* v Denmark (Lyon, 1984)
- 3-0 v Russia (Vienna, 2008)
- 0-0* v Portugal (Donetsk, 2012)
FAN FICTION
SIXTY THOUSAND football supporters will be allowed into this week’s two semi-finals – but don’t expect to see too many that have travelled over from Italy and Spain.
Current quarantine restrictions mean that visitors from either country would be required to isolate on reaching the United Kingdom.
The Italian FA have revealed they only received 125 tickets for the match, while head coach Roberto Mancini added that a lack of fans from Italy and Spain is “unfair.”
However, the former Manchester City manager admitted that playing in front of a large neutral crowd was still preferable to games behind closed doors: “It is better to play in front of the public than in front of a few people. That is the beauty of sport.”
Spanish boss Luis Enrique agreed with Mancini’s sentiment, stating the situation was out of their control: “It is a strange situation. We wish it was different but we accept it.”
Hopefully, the stadium tonight will be full of those Italians and Spaniards now based in the UK.
TEAM NEWS
The injury suffered by Leonardo Spinazzola late on in Italy’s quarter-final win over Belgium dealt a crushing blow to Italy’s chances of Euro glory – but his teammates have vowed to fight on to the final without him.
The Roma left-back pulled up 13 minutes from the end at Munich’s Football Arena with an Achilles injury, and has been ruled out for at least six months.
Roberto Mancini is expected to replace him this evening with Chelsea’s Emerson, but otherwise the Italy coach is likely to name the same side that started against the Belgians.
That means Federico Chiesa should keep his place on the right of attack with Domenico Berardi waiting in the wings, while striker Ciro Immobile will get another opportunity to lead the line despite the option of Andrea Belotti on the bench.
Spain, meanwhile, have concerns over the fitness of Pablo Sarabia after the PSG forward departed their quarter-final with Switzerland at half-time due to an adductor muscle problem.
Luis Enrique has plenty of options to replace Sarabia in his front three including Wolves’ Adama Traore and Gerard Moreno of Villarreal, but the Spanish coach will most likely opt for 23-year-old Dani Olmo.
Elsewhere, Enrique must decide who partners Aymeric Laporte at the back having rotated Eric Garcia and Pau Torres at centre-half.
Injured Italy star Leonardo Spinazzola has been ruled out for six months.
SEMI-SATIONAL!
It’s the final four! Welcome to Wembley for our live coverage of the first Euro 2020 semi-final between Italy and Spain.
Twenty-four hours ahead of England’s big night, two giants of the European game do battle for the first spot in Sunday’s showpiece.
Italy are favourites to reach the final, and have been ever since their campaign kicked-off against Turkey in Rome just over three weeks ago.
Roberto Mancini’s men have been magnificent, breaking records left, right and centre thanks to their newfound attacking tempo mixed with some classic defensive dark arts.
However, a long-term injury to one of their stars has cast a shadow over their success, and the Azzurri must now discover a way to progress without Leonardo Spinazzola rampaging up and down the left.
In stark contrast, little was expected of a Spanish squad in transition ahead of the tournament, and just one victory inside 90 minutes from their five games so far justifies their critics.
Yet La Roja are making a habit of finding a way to win when they need one most, and history shows that they’re not a nation for faltering once at the semi-final stage.
Indeed, if coach Luis Enrique can finally get Alvaro Morata firing up front, it could well be Spain ascending the Wembley steps at the weekend to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy for a third time in 13 years
So stay with us for extensive build-up ahead of this evening’s action in London that will include team news, breaking stories and key stats.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
