La Spain beats theItaly 2-1 in the semi-final of Nations League and qualifies for the final. The goals in the first half, at 17' and 47' of Ferran Torres, in the second at 38′ of Pellegrini. Azzurri down to 10 men from the 42nd minute of the first half due to a double yellow card BonucciWith this defeat, Italy's record run of 37 consecutive useful matches ends.
The Italian approach is excellent, made up of high rhythms and a lot of pressure that seem to be able to put the 'Red Furies' in difficulty. Church He is the first to warm up Unai Simon's gloves with a right-footed shot from outside, then Luis Enrique's team enters the game and takes the lead in the 17th minute: oyarzabal he puts in a great cross from the left, Ferran Torres surprises Bastoni from behind and with a right-footed volley beats Donnarumma.
The former AC Milan goalkeeper, who was booed on his return to San Siro, risked making a mess of things a couple of minutes later, letting slip a non-dangerous shot. Marcos Alonso. Luckily for him the pole saves him with the help of Bonucci which removes the threat. Wood that also hits Italy in the 34th minute, when Bernardeschi he attempts a left-footed shot, first being saved by Simon, then the shot deflects onto the post.
The next action is the one that leads to the biggest scoring opportunity for the Azzurri, wasted sensationally by Insigne all alone in front of the visiting goalkeeper. At 42' the path of the comeback becomes even more complicated for the team of Mancini, forced into numerical inferiority due to a double warning received by Bonucci. A situation that Spain took advantage of before the break, doubling their lead once again with Ferran Torres, this time a lethal header from another perfect cross. Oyarzabal.
In the second half, Italy tried at least with pride to limit the damage, but the only 'half' chance was for Chiesa who hit the post, which was also in an irregular position. Spain defends the double advantage without too many problems and on at least two occasions fails to deliver the knockout blow with Oyarzabal and Marcos Alonso, still leaving some hope to the Azzurri. At 83' he thinks about it Pellegrini to close the gap by scoring into an empty net on an assist from Church, but the goal from Roma's captain was useless for the result.
“Sooner or later Italy will have to lose”. He had said it Luis Enrique on the eve of the Nations League semi-final, and Spain breaks the spell of the unbeatable Italy Roberto ManciniThe Azzurri's positive streak had lasted for over three years and had allowed them to reach the record of 37 games without defeat, surpassing the all-time record held by Brazil.
The finish line was reached thanks to the 5-0 win over Lithuania in the last qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup. The unbeaten run of National led by Roberto Mancini had lasted precisely since Italy-Ukraine 1-1 on 10 October 2018. The last defeat before tonight dated back to 10 September three years ago, 0-1 in Lisbon against Portugal, in the Nations League. The positive streak interrupted tonight is made up of 31 official matches and 6 friendlies, in which Mancini's national team has collected 28 victories and 9 draws.
The previous positive record for an Italian national team belonged to Vittorio pozzo: under his guidance, Italy had not suffered defeats for 30 consecutive matches between 24 November 1935 (Italy-Hungary 2-2) and 20 July 1939 (Finland-Italy 2-3). In that period the Azzurri triumphed in 3 events: World Cup (1938), Olympics (1936) and International Cup
EDITORIAL TEAM
Choose the social channel you want to subscribe to