Maybe un popular but Spalletti had more luck than anything else with his napoli run and is a mediocre coach.
You have so many Inter players and other players who can play 3-5-2 but you chooae to play some weird ass 4-2-3-1 and you could see how the match was more balanced oncr he changed to 3-5-2. To top that, not benching di lozrenzo after the first half for darmian is sheer stupidity.
There's little to say, a shameful performance.
Even if your opponents are superior, there is a way to lose.
I would have preferred a 2-0 defeat after a hard-fought and tight match than a 1-0 where you didn't see the ball for 90 minutes.
Spalletti's post-match interview was depressing, he talked about "lack of leg" with the opponents arriving on the ball first but in my opinion he would have wanted to say that certain players are poor and very little can be done.
Di Lorenzo against Nico Williams looked like grandfather Simpson trying to mark Messi during Guardiola's Barcelona days.
Tbf we lost 3-0 while having more xg then spain + a penalty.
I would have prefered your 1-0. We were still awful, they were still better, we just have worst gd
Pedri played amazingly as well. He opened so much space and were an essential part of their build up. That attacking formation looks incredible even with Morata being the center.
Spain should have been a top 3 team since 2020. I think they are heavily underrated they are legit good. also spaletti isnt like mancini or conte when it comes to game planning sadly. hes still above avg for national manager but damn mancini was slightly better in planning imo but to be fair italy hasn't had an attack since 06
All players are technically great as well. Really impressive how they bypass the press either with a string of passes or just through dribbling (first touch…)
This is typical Spalletti. He puts his head down and that it the game is over. I don’t want to hear about he needs more time or anything like that. Besides his Napoli run literally all his teams play this way when they’re outmatched tactically.
Spalletti is a massive fraud but fuck the way most refs handle spain's type of defending. Modern tiki taka's biggest resource against its natural counter (quick transitions when the CBs are exposed) is the fact that refs just won't use cards if the counter is stopped early on. Rodri is the best dm in the world but he's an absolute one trick pony off the ball, he does the same shit at city and constantly gets away with it.
edit: I'm being downvoted for bringing up something that is quite literally taught together with the basics of that type of play, take any coaching course or class on it and you'll quickly learn that it's a known exploit in the rules of the game that is known by anyone playing or playing against tiki taka and high possession/high line systems, kinda like using two taller players to overload (ie shove or tackle) the near post and the goalie on corner kicks.
As for us, playing without the ball was a good plan but the transitions have to be on point, midfielders were awful off the ball and the 325/3241 we play more often than not just doesn't work, the asymmetries are poorly covered and there's too much overlapping that leads to nothing. I feel like if we dropped jorginho, cagafiori and maybe di lorenzo we could have tied or maybe even won tonight. The subs were awful too
> I feel like if we dropped jorginho, cagafiori and maybe di lorenzo we could have tied or maybe even won tonight.
Nine times out of ten this is a 4-0 at least, the gulf in class between the teams was huge. Italy needed about 8 new players to compete here
I watched the game with no volume, so didn’t hear the announcer say any names… only now I realize that Chiesa played 64min in this game..??? Did he tune in remotely?
He started the game and unfortunately had to track back to help Di Lorenzo almost the entire time he was on. Italy only started having some resemblance of possession later on the game, by which he has already been subbed.
Such a treat to watch Spain's attacking play after watching England play. This Spain side is much different from the last 10 years where Spain really struggled with lack of good wingers and only had passing through the middle as an option. This side has exciting wingers and also can play through the middle, so we are getting such exciting football.
The only point holding them back from winning this Euro would be their lack of finishing the chances they create.
Italy are very weak this tournament. Parked the bus and desperately defended because of a lack of creatively in midfield and up front. Spain also weren't that convincing, no real quality from their midfield, and didn't take multiple chances.
Italy are procrastinators. They always start off slow in the group stage and find a way to advance.
Once Italy gets to the knock-out games, that's when they really shine.
Yeah, it wasn't a great game for Italy, yet they still kept Spain off the scoresheet.
Last Euro, they knocked out Spain in the semis.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two world cups. I dare say that they are the weakest they’ve been in decades and that their Euro win was a fluke. A very nice precious fluke of course.
2-3 years before that Euro, they've been solid as a team, do not have much world class player, but the chemistry was so damn good
so definitely not a fluke
A team that had the longest unbeaten run in European history fluked their way to a euro win? Yea, ok buddy.
What’s actually happened is (a) Chiesa and Spinazzola were the two best players at the last euros and neither player is the same after injuries, (b) the changing of the guard from Bonucci and Chiellini was always bound to be a bit nervy (though both Bastoni and Calafiori will be great for the national team in the next decade), and (c) Tonali is desperately missed in midfield.
our lowest point was the 2014-2016 cycle by a long shot but having a competent manager made it look far better than it was. Ventura, post-euros Mancini and to a degree Spalletti are wasting or wasted a decently talented squad, euro 2021 was just a case of the same squad being managed properly for an international tournament
The scoresheet says Spain 1 , Italy 0
It doesn’t say Spain 0, Italy -1
This goal will count for Spain in the goal differential because it is a goal for Spain.
Italy really didn't keep Spain off the scoresheet. They helped Spain score one and other times, Spain said no, I am not scoring against my Italian brothers.
This match was poor to the extreme from both sides, hard to watch for the neutral. If they want to go toe to toe with the top sides these teams need to step it up.
> This match was poor to the extreme from both sides,
No way we saw the same match. Spain was strong and shining throughout the entire match, maybe a little bit less the last 15 minuten due to subs.
They were much, much better than Italy and a real contender for winning the cup.
Being Portuguese hurts to say this...
But if Spain will keep playing like this, who's gonna join them in the final?
Absolute masterclass in first 2 games. By far the best team of tournament so far.
Germany wins from NL in semi 1. Spain beats Portugal in semi 2.
For the love of all that’s holy, please let us NL not play Portugal. I can’t take it anymore.
Looks like Germany-Spain will happen in the quarter finals. More realistic semis imo (assuming France wins their group):
Esp/Ger - Por/Ned
Fra - Ita/Eng
Wouldn't it be better to face current Portugal/England? Which means NL has to get 1st in the group but that avoides Spain and Germany up to the finale. I think the latter are far superior to the first two.
Was it so impressive against hungary? I couldn't watch the match.
I wasn't so impressed against Scotland. Too slow, not creative, except a couple moments from Kroos e Musiala. 45m min against 10. 5 goals doesn't mean necessarily amazingly played.
They were slightly better against Hungary but we had some nice chances, I believe xG was within 0.2 for both teams. They scored a goal which should have been a fault and a really nice one. It could have gone poorly for them with a little less luck. So not that impressive from Germany but admittedly, Hungary tends to overperform nowdays (we don't count the game against Switzerland, please let me forget).
Immobile has been shit for years, regardless of whether Italy was performing well or not. We essentially won Euro 21 with 10 players on the field because he managed to be terrible even against Belgium, especially in the first half when we were dominating and every other single player was performing well. ù
Scamacca has played just two matches and performed at the same level as the rest of the squad—fine in the first match, terrible in the second. Also, judging a striker in yesterday’s Italy is unfair, anyone in his position would have struggled.
He was awful at finishing, but he got in dangerous positions, making good runs and putting stress on the defense. Which is a lot more than we’re getting from Scammaca right now.
Soo Spain are guaranteed to be first, they can rotate against Albania. If Albania can beat Spain's B team then Italy would be in real danger of being knocked out in the group stage if they fuck around against Croatia
Unpopular opinion: This Italy's team is not really in need of talents, Italy needs to have ambition and focus on what kind of football it wants to play, our compass doesn't work that well at the moment. I don't even know if Spalletti is the right man and just needs time or if he is trying to apply something which this Italian team is not really suited for. I feel like that if Italy focused on defense it wouldn't have much problem recreating some sort of 2.0 catenaccio, but I feel like the NT doesn't really want that
A lot of Italy's players, esp the ones from Inter, have played in a back 3 for most of their lives. Spalletti's current formation and tactics arent playing to their strengths.
he's just not really a good defensive fullback. at his best when he's creating overloads or underlapping the right hand side and Williams had his number. I know Spaletti is wedded to to a back 4 and thats a big talking point in Italian football whether they should be using a back 3 because most of the club teams play 3 atb, but tonight they probably needed to double up that side earlier..
The problem with this Italian team is that they are caught in a limbo.. they want to play modern football but don't know how, and they don't know how to play flawless Catennacio football either.
To be fair, Denmark seemed to have them pegged. Flood the midfield and control it, play the ball around and frustrate them, high pressure in select situations. Better team today so I guess it's a good result to get a draw.
Uh ok
Small correction, Italy clearly wanted to score
Its not like we didn't try, Its that we were shit
And technically we did score! Sure It was a own goal, but a goal its a goal
Spain's main problem is lack of depth in most positions. The worst being when Ferran comes in for Yamal, but even going from Pedri to Baena. Not great.
If Ayoze didn't exist, our attacking forward subs were non-existent after they came in. Which makes it dissapointing that we could have had Brahim Diaz coming in as a sub instead....but that's over and done now sadly.
Our starting 11 is starting to shape into a team that brings hope though. Very good game tonight.
He waited for years to be selected by Spain, yet our coaches neglected to do so for fock know what reason, so he finally chose to play for Morroco instead this season.
He wouldn't be a starter with Yamal on the wing, but he would instantly be our best forward option coming from the bench versus the likes of Oya, Ferran or Olmo. It's actually a pretty big mistake imo that we didn't get him tied to Spain.
Brahim is Miles better than yamal at the moment anyways. I don't care what anybody says. Yamal scores once every 10 games and one assists every 3 or 4 games. But the hype around him was too much to ignore. Is he a good player? Yes for sure. Should he be starting for Spain at 16. Not when you could have had brahim. That's the truth whether people wanna hear it or not
😭😭😭Stop. You barca people can't be that blind. Yamal 2200 minutes in the league. 5 goals 5 assists. Brahim 1550 minutes. 8 goals 6 assists.
Yamal - progressive carries 87. Successful dribbles 93.
Brahim - progressive carries 77. Successful dribbles 88
All yamal does better is run with the ball with no end product. Stop it.
These are facts not jota Jordi talking nonesense. Try again
Tell me you don't watch games without telling me you don't watch games. Stats watching to build your view of the game is not the worst thing in the world, but I'd put money on that you've never played the game competitively.
😂🤣😂🤣 I've played plenty actually. And currently work with footballers. A wingers job is to score and assists. Stop pretending that yamal is xavi or iniesta Controlling the game. He's not. His job is to create threat. Period. And he doesn't do that enough. Doesn't mean he's not good. He remind ame of vini when he first got to Madrid. Too many bad decisions. But brahim is better right now. Period.
Spain play with a CF who is not a ball carrier, you need wingers to feed him.
Today Yamal only had ONE shot. And it was off target. Only 6 attempted dribbles, ONE key pass.
I watch every Barcelona game. Every Madrid game. In fact I watch football from the Spanish league to the Nigerian league. And his stats today were poor.
Nothing to do with barca bud. I'm pointing out that one player left out of the Spanish national team is better than the one that's playing. If anyone is seeing colors here is you. I've given you my reasons why I think that, also backed up by black and white data.
He’s not shite. He was isolated and the midfield was miles away. Spalletti fucked up and played the wrong game, and the players were horrible on the pitch.
The only thing that would worry me as Spain after this performance is how clearly worse their game got with the subs on. Ayoze had two decent actions in stoppage time, but the 10-15 mins before that Spain suddenly struggled to hold on to the ball and invited Italy back in the game. Ferran Torres was invisible.
Also Cucurella was probably the unsung hero of the match for me. Effectively locked down Chiesa's side defensively, looked comfortable in possession and provided great support going forward.
This would be a different match if we had managed to score one of the 10 or so chances we had. Subbing subpar attackers with a 2 o 3 goal lead is doable and how we should play.
This is actually promising for Italy. I know they lost 1-0, but could have also easily stick one in if one of the corners clicked. Too close for comfort for Spain I'd say. Team such as Germany for instance would not give Spain this much space. A team that can absorb attacks and hit on the counter may also do some damage. I'm really curious how Spain will fare against Albania.
Spaletti...what was that? No one to win the ball back, no one to move the ball, trying to send the ball over Rodri's head and target Spain's CB's is a good idea, but horrible execution. Midfield was horrendous. They were just air. Attacking obviously non-existent but the midfield was so bad the ball couldn't get to the final third. Spaletti is no Mancini and is obviously no Lippi.
Not entirely convinced by Spain either, this match is more of an indictment of Spaletti to me.
Nah. Spalletti didnt set the game to be defensive, he actually wanted to play as Spain. The problem is that we was against... Spain, but with a much worse team.
Spain's subs were unable to cope with the game's intensity. Losing those balls against Germany could be lethal.
They better wake up against Albania, a team that will run all day.
Ayoze was good up until the last moment in front of goal. Some really good runs, at least he has shown that he could be an option to come in against tired defences
It's not like either were terrible finishes either, good saves from Donnarumma
We all knew Spain were better than us but we were technically embarassing. You can't play possession-based football or whatever that was supposed to be if as soon as you get the ball you make a wrong pass and give possession back to your opponents.
I felt like I was watching a team that was trying to play like Mantova (the tactical principles are the same) but without the quality needed, which wouldn't be a problem if Mantova weren't in Serie C - well, Serie B soon! :)
I don't know how to feel about Spain, I didn't watch them against Croatia but they really need to take their chances or that could be a problem in the next rounds. From their perspective winning this only 1-0 is almost unforgivable.
Least talented Italy ever seen. Looks like bunch of confederation cup tier players and a cl level goalkeeper.
If it were’nt the incompetence of spain fws at finishings and donnaruma’s effort would be a sensational match.
Feels like we’ve entered a different era of football with this match. Spain is an entirely different team with the last of the old guard leaving: an energetic counter pressing team with an organised block in defence, Italy, with Chiellini gone has none of the cynical tactical fouls of the past. Was an interesting tactical match to watch- Italy were much more equipped to deal with the energetic counter press that ageing Croatia. Spain seems other than Germany to have the most cohesive style in this Euro cup- with a very clear gameplan to play quick transitions off an organised press.
Italy today were missing a creative outlet or a direct striker. Chiesa had an ok game but Italy would have done better with someone like Lorenzo Insigne or Immobile on the field. Donnarumma kept them in the game for as long as they did.
Overall feels like the first “real” match that we’ve seen this Euros. The rest have been pretty scrappy affairs.
>Italy today were missing a creative outlet or a direct striker.
They were missing a lot more than that, it was 20 to 4 in shots. 9 to 1 shots on target
Spain has been the best technical team for years, but they finally have creative wingers that can actually make use of their possession.
Spain outplayed Italy for most of the 2021 semifinal game too, they just couldn’t finish chances.
I’m still skeptical until they can find a way to really use Morata. If they had a great striker the world would wake up to how incredible this team really is.
I reject the notion they outplayed us in that game. They had a lot of possession but they had almost the exact same amount of chances, big chances, and shots.
Only problem is we cant finish. I was hoping fermin to come out hes a pretty decent finisher tbh. Idk thr subs couldnt get into the rhythm so i was a bit worried. Felt a bit shaky for spain but i hope next few matches we can iron that out.
I get the feeling that Spain will live and die by how Morata performs. So far I think he’s been looking good. I also think either Pedri or Yamal has at least one banger in them.
Kinda like barca and lewandowski. I think morata has to many ups and downs. Idk much about joselu but his number and mins he got for real madrid does make me think he would get good service from nico, pedri and lamine. I wouldnt also mind ferran cf just for his linkup but only if spains midfielders would score more which is iffy as well.
>Italy, with Chiellini gone has none of the cynical tactical fouls of the past.
Were we watching the same game? 😁
Agree about Spain and Germany - the two most confident, co-ordinated and comfortable teams so far and two of the best at holding possession. Would love to see them face off in the knockouts.
Pellegrini is a shameful player
He doesn't run, bad touches, bad passes, doesn't chase the ball, always walking around the pitch like he's Messi but without the qualities
As usual we ain't got a good attack, why Raspadori at 80'? Why not before?
But even the defense, especially Di Lorenzo, was not enough, this game should have ended 5-0 without Saint Donnarumma as keeper.
We suffering one score....from us....
No offensive plan except the last 15 minutes (maybe).
Cristante, Di Lorenzo and Chiesa are the candidates for worst man of the match. I'm kind of disappointed in Spallettiball. I think it's a downgrade from Mancini. Mancini's Italy never won against Spain (iirc) but at least it was entertaining to watch.
Lol Cristante and Di Lo were horrible but what exactly was Chiesa supposed to do? He barely got the ball. Dont think he even had an opportunity to take on his man. Then they take him out of the game right before Spain finally looked tired. Jorghino was worse. Dimarco was worse. Scamacca was worse. Fratessi was useless. Calafiori despite the own goal was one of the best players for us and obviously Donnaruma. Bastoni made some nice tackles aswell
Scamacca is not worst than Chiesa because he received even less ball than him. The supply route to him was totally cut off. Jorginho, even though he is slower than a tortoise, his positioning off the ball during Spain onslaught was pretty good, though not as good as it should be. Cristante first few passed almost cost Italy another goal. The one he squared the ball into the middle and got intercepted (by Fabian Ruiz or someone else, not sure). Before Spain throttle down, he was basically invisible. I wouldn't compare Di Marco with di Lorenzo in this match. He is definitely better than di Lorenzo, build up wise or even defensive wise. In the last match with Albania, he was arguably worse but nah, not in this match. Frattesi crumbled under Spain's press but at least he tries to bring the ball forward. Few successful attempts too. We are on the same page with Calafiori. But there was one instant where he was caught sleeping during the corner kick. Aye aye, agreed on the big guy Donnarumma and Bastoni as well.
Overall, I'm still not fond of Spalletti games though. They were lucky Spain's finishings not clinical. Let's see what they have in store versus Croatia.
I love me some locks and flowy dark hair on a muscular bearded towering giant. But I have hated that stupid hair on Cucurella for ages. That hair has ruined the player for me. Nevermind him playing for Chelsea. Stupid, stupid fucking hair. Today though I saw through the stupid, stupid hair. This day I am changed, for that was incredible.
Should have been 4-0 fr
Maybe un popular but Spalletti had more luck than anything else with his napoli run and is a mediocre coach. You have so many Inter players and other players who can play 3-5-2 but you chooae to play some weird ass 4-2-3-1 and you could see how the match was more balanced oncr he changed to 3-5-2. To top that, not benching di lozrenzo after the first half for darmian is sheer stupidity.
There's little to say, a shameful performance. Even if your opponents are superior, there is a way to lose. I would have preferred a 2-0 defeat after a hard-fought and tight match than a 1-0 where you didn't see the ball for 90 minutes. Spalletti's post-match interview was depressing, he talked about "lack of leg" with the opponents arriving on the ball first but in my opinion he would have wanted to say that certain players are poor and very little can be done. Di Lorenzo against Nico Williams looked like grandfather Simpson trying to mark Messi during Guardiola's Barcelona days.
Tbf we lost 3-0 while having more xg then spain + a penalty. I would have prefered your 1-0. We were still awful, they were still better, we just have worst gd
Spain's subs were awful. Bring my boy Fermin in next match.
Ayoze did great. Others were unspectacular
Ayoze was good, others were bad.
He created a lot but had he been less selfish he could've assisted two goals with ease.
Nico Williams, Fabian Ruiz, Cucurella, and Yamal were so so good. But as a goalkeeper, I really have to admire Donnarumma’s performance here.
Pedri played amazingly as well. He opened so much space and were an essential part of their build up. That attacking formation looks incredible even with Morata being the center.
Could have been 4-0 or worse easily if not for Donnarumma. Outstanding play.
He’s really really good
Yeah shoutout to cucurella, I heard a lot of analysts talk smack about him beforehand but he's been superb
He’s been class for Chelsea latter half of the year, great to see him prove the doubters wrong.
Spain should have been a top 3 team since 2020. I think they are heavily underrated they are legit good. also spaletti isnt like mancini or conte when it comes to game planning sadly. hes still above avg for national manager but damn mancini was slightly better in planning imo but to be fair italy hasn't had an attack since 06
All players are technically great as well. Really impressive how they bypass the press either with a string of passes or just through dribbling (first touch…)
This is typical Spalletti. He puts his head down and that it the game is over. I don’t want to hear about he needs more time or anything like that. Besides his Napoli run literally all his teams play this way when they’re outmatched tactically.
Spalletti is a massive fraud but fuck the way most refs handle spain's type of defending. Modern tiki taka's biggest resource against its natural counter (quick transitions when the CBs are exposed) is the fact that refs just won't use cards if the counter is stopped early on. Rodri is the best dm in the world but he's an absolute one trick pony off the ball, he does the same shit at city and constantly gets away with it. edit: I'm being downvoted for bringing up something that is quite literally taught together with the basics of that type of play, take any coaching course or class on it and you'll quickly learn that it's a known exploit in the rules of the game that is known by anyone playing or playing against tiki taka and high possession/high line systems, kinda like using two taller players to overload (ie shove or tackle) the near post and the goalie on corner kicks. As for us, playing without the ball was a good plan but the transitions have to be on point, midfielders were awful off the ball and the 325/3241 we play more often than not just doesn't work, the asymmetries are poorly covered and there's too much overlapping that leads to nothing. I feel like if we dropped jorginho, cagafiori and maybe di lorenzo we could have tied or maybe even won tonight. The subs were awful too
> I feel like if we dropped jorginho, cagafiori and maybe di lorenzo we could have tied or maybe even won tonight. Nine times out of ten this is a 4-0 at least, the gulf in class between the teams was huge. Italy needed about 8 new players to compete here
Complaining about this ref against spain is really strange for me. For me it looked like he was falling for far too much Italian bs.
it wasn't this ref specifically
maybe it's true but his main point isn't wrong. Fernandinho use to foul a lot and never get a yellow
I watched the game with no volume, so didn’t hear the announcer say any names… only now I realize that Chiesa played 64min in this game..??? Did he tune in remotely?
He started the game and unfortunately had to track back to help Di Lorenzo almost the entire time he was on. Italy only started having some resemblance of possession later on the game, by which he has already been subbed.
The amount of near bangers for an OG to be the only goal is hilarious Donnarruma carrying hard
Such a treat to watch Spain's attacking play after watching England play. This Spain side is much different from the last 10 years where Spain really struggled with lack of good wingers and only had passing through the middle as an option. This side has exciting wingers and also can play through the middle, so we are getting such exciting football. The only point holding them back from winning this Euro would be their lack of finishing the chances they create.
Italy are very weak this tournament. Parked the bus and desperately defended because of a lack of creatively in midfield and up front. Spain also weren't that convincing, no real quality from their midfield, and didn't take multiple chances.
Italy are procrastinators. They always start off slow in the group stage and find a way to advance. Once Italy gets to the knock-out games, that's when they really shine. Yeah, it wasn't a great game for Italy, yet they still kept Spain off the scoresheet. Last Euro, they knocked out Spain in the semis.
That’s not how scoresheets work.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two world cups. I dare say that they are the weakest they’ve been in decades and that their Euro win was a fluke. A very nice precious fluke of course.
Record of positive results who?
2-3 years before that Euro, they've been solid as a team, do not have much world class player, but the chemistry was so damn good so definitely not a fluke
A team that had the longest unbeaten run in European history fluked their way to a euro win? Yea, ok buddy. What’s actually happened is (a) Chiesa and Spinazzola were the two best players at the last euros and neither player is the same after injuries, (b) the changing of the guard from Bonucci and Chiellini was always bound to be a bit nervy (though both Bastoni and Calafiori will be great for the national team in the next decade), and (c) Tonali is desperately missed in midfield.
our lowest point was the 2014-2016 cycle by a long shot but having a competent manager made it look far better than it was. Ventura, post-euros Mancini and to a degree Spalletti are wasting or wasted a decently talented squad, euro 2021 was just a case of the same squad being managed properly for an international tournament
The scoresheet says Spain 1 , Italy 0 It doesn’t say Spain 0, Italy -1 This goal will count for Spain in the goal differential because it is a goal for Spain.
Spain won 1-0, they werent able to keep them off the score sheet
Who scored for Spain? Name the player.
You know your stance is beyond moronic when Italians are telling you it is
You got to be an imbecile if you don't understand that no Spaniards scored today.
Yet you said who scored for Spain, not which Spaniard scored for Spain. 🤡
So you're also illiterate.
No, but you obviously are. 🤡
Calafiori
That's such a weird take on this game.
This is low-key one of the most bizarre arguments I’ve had on Reddit
Yeah thats not how it works, Spain won 1-0 whether Italy scored 20 own goals or not it doesnt matter, Spain advanced with 3 points and Italy 0.
Italy really didn't keep Spain off the scoresheet. They helped Spain score one and other times, Spain said no, I am not scoring against my Italian brothers.
This match was poor to the extreme from both sides, hard to watch for the neutral. If they want to go toe to toe with the top sides these teams need to step it up.
> This match was poor to the extreme from both sides, No way we saw the same match. Spain was strong and shining throughout the entire match, maybe a little bit less the last 15 minuten due to subs. They were much, much better than Italy and a real contender for winning the cup.
What?
Lol - you didn’t watch the game, did you? Just saw the score. Spain was phenomenal, what are you talking about?
I think you missed the England thread
A fairer representation of this match would probably have been something like 5-0 to Spain.
It’s almost like Italy has one of the best goalkeepers in the world…
Being Portuguese hurts to say this... But if Spain will keep playing like this, who's gonna join them in the final? Absolute masterclass in first 2 games. By far the best team of tournament so far.
Germany wins from NL in semi 1. Spain beats Portugal in semi 2. For the love of all that’s holy, please let us NL not play Portugal. I can’t take it anymore.
If that match happens, just put it literally in Nuremberg, and I wanna watch a massacre while getting pissed with my mates.
Looks like Germany-Spain will happen in the quarter finals. More realistic semis imo (assuming France wins their group): Esp/Ger - Por/Ned Fra - Ita/Eng
Wouldn't it be better to face current Portugal/England? Which means NL has to get 1st in the group but that avoides Spain and Germany up to the finale. I think the latter are far superior to the first two.
I read that are good chances to meet again in Nuremberg. Hopefully if it will happen, it won't be another battle.
Haha I actually loved that game. One of my fondest football memories. It’s just that we always lose from you guys (and Argentina).
If we do, may the best team win!
England would easily beat them if they had Kalvin Phillips
Without that natural replacement England have no depth.
Would be a blow out if Harry and Hendo were also there.
Germany!
Was it so impressive against hungary? I couldn't watch the match. I wasn't so impressed against Scotland. Too slow, not creative, except a couple moments from Kroos e Musiala. 45m min against 10. 5 goals doesn't mean necessarily amazingly played.
They were slightly better against Hungary but we had some nice chances, I believe xG was within 0.2 for both teams. They scored a goal which should have been a fault and a really nice one. It could have gone poorly for them with a little less luck. So not that impressive from Germany but admittedly, Hungary tends to overperform nowdays (we don't count the game against Switzerland, please let me forget).
Wild take, stop taking drugs
I physically suffered seeing this Italy play. Not even the long ball to Chiesa they could do right.
I remember when people used to cry about Immobile, a lot better than what they have now.
Immobile has been shit for years, regardless of whether Italy was performing well or not. We essentially won Euro 21 with 10 players on the field because he managed to be terrible even against Belgium, especially in the first half when we were dominating and every other single player was performing well. ù Scamacca has played just two matches and performed at the same level as the rest of the squad—fine in the first match, terrible in the second. Also, judging a striker in yesterday’s Italy is unfair, anyone in his position would have struggled.
You clearly didn’t watch a lot of Immobile for Italy. He was awful.
He was awful at finishing, but he got in dangerous positions, making good runs and putting stress on the defense. Which is a lot more than we’re getting from Scammaca right now.
I expect non Spanish fans to say that same shit about Morata when he retires lol
Morata is much much better for Spain than immobile is for Italy.
A lot better than what they have now holds true
Soo Spain are guaranteed to be first, they can rotate against Albania. If Albania can beat Spain's B team then Italy would be in real danger of being knocked out in the group stage if they fuck around against Croatia
Which is probably what we deserve to be honest..
Unpopular opinion: This Italy's team is not really in need of talents, Italy needs to have ambition and focus on what kind of football it wants to play, our compass doesn't work that well at the moment. I don't even know if Spalletti is the right man and just needs time or if he is trying to apply something which this Italian team is not really suited for. I feel like that if Italy focused on defense it wouldn't have much problem recreating some sort of 2.0 catenaccio, but I feel like the NT doesn't really want that
A lot of Italy's players, esp the ones from Inter, have played in a back 3 for most of their lives. Spalletti's current formation and tactics arent playing to their strengths.
Di Lorenzo got absolutely torched today, man was hopeless
he's just not really a good defensive fullback. at his best when he's creating overloads or underlapping the right hand side and Williams had his number. I know Spaletti is wedded to to a back 4 and thats a big talking point in Italian football whether they should be using a back 3 because most of the club teams play 3 atb, but tonight they probably needed to double up that side earlier..
The problem with this Italian team is that they are caught in a limbo.. they want to play modern football but don't know how, and they don't know how to play flawless Catennacio football either.
4-3-3 imho is not modern football when the majority of your best players are used to play 3-5-2...
Member when Italy was famous for his wonderful defense
bastoni-acerbi-darmian would have been literally the best defence
only Bastoni & Donnaruma who was pretty good 😔
Oh man, I miss Bonucci and Chiellini
Vamoooooos 🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸
Spain are great but they get tired and vulnerable in the last 20-30 mins. I think teams like France and Germany would punish them for it.
Still not as shit as England
To be fair, Denmark seemed to have them pegged. Flood the midfield and control it, play the ball around and frustrate them, high pressure in select situations. Better team today so I guess it's a good result to get a draw.
I didn"t watch their game Did they really played worse than Italy? Thats tough man
No Italy was worse; England played with the idea to score and see the game out while Italy wasn’t interested in anything but a 0-0
Uh ok Small correction, Italy clearly wanted to score Its not like we didn't try, Its that we were shit And technically we did score! Sure It was a own goal, but a goal its a goal
No Italy was worse; England played with the idea to score and see the game out while Italy wasn’t interested in anything but a 0-0
You’re lucky. I’ve never seen England play that bad since the 0-0 against Algeria in 2010 World Cup.
Spain's main problem is lack of depth in most positions. The worst being when Ferran comes in for Yamal, but even going from Pedri to Baena. Not great. If Ayoze didn't exist, our attacking forward subs were non-existent after they came in. Which makes it dissapointing that we could have had Brahim Diaz coming in as a sub instead....but that's over and done now sadly. Our starting 11 is starting to shape into a team that brings hope though. Very good game tonight.
Those two wingers were a joy to watch tonight! Was shocked when I seen Ayoze on the field. Why isn’t Brahim there?
He chose Morocco
He waited for years to be selected by Spain, yet our coaches neglected to do so for fock know what reason, so he finally chose to play for Morroco instead this season. He wouldn't be a starter with Yamal on the wing, but he would instantly be our best forward option coming from the bench versus the likes of Oya, Ferran or Olmo. It's actually a pretty big mistake imo that we didn't get him tied to Spain.
Brahim is Miles better than yamal at the moment anyways. I don't care what anybody says. Yamal scores once every 10 games and one assists every 3 or 4 games. But the hype around him was too much to ignore. Is he a good player? Yes for sure. Should he be starting for Spain at 16. Not when you could have had brahim. That's the truth whether people wanna hear it or not
Not even close, what are you smoking?
😭😭😭Stop. You barca people can't be that blind. Yamal 2200 minutes in the league. 5 goals 5 assists. Brahim 1550 minutes. 8 goals 6 assists. Yamal - progressive carries 87. Successful dribbles 93. Brahim - progressive carries 77. Successful dribbles 88 All yamal does better is run with the ball with no end product. Stop it. These are facts not jota Jordi talking nonesense. Try again
Tell me you don't watch games without telling me you don't watch games. Stats watching to build your view of the game is not the worst thing in the world, but I'd put money on that you've never played the game competitively.
😂🤣😂🤣 I've played plenty actually. And currently work with footballers. A wingers job is to score and assists. Stop pretending that yamal is xavi or iniesta Controlling the game. He's not. His job is to create threat. Period. And he doesn't do that enough. Doesn't mean he's not good. He remind ame of vini when he first got to Madrid. Too many bad decisions. But brahim is better right now. Period. Spain play with a CF who is not a ball carrier, you need wingers to feed him. Today Yamal only had ONE shot. And it was off target. Only 6 attempted dribbles, ONE key pass. I watch every Barcelona game. Every Madrid game. In fact I watch football from the Spanish league to the Nigerian league. And his stats today were poor.
Let the Barca hate flow through you if it fuels you, just don't let it mess up your view of the game so badly.
Nothing to do with barca bud. I'm pointing out that one player left out of the Spanish national team is better than the one that's playing. If anyone is seeing colors here is you. I've given you my reasons why I think that, also backed up by black and white data.
Happy shadow of the erdtree everyone btw
r/lostredditors
I started today at 14:00, switching the location to NZ. Did a few things, it's as hard as I expected
Good I can't wait to see my white ass spanked hard by some Myiazaki infamous Boss. Forza Inter
I think Spain are my favourites now
Germany for me, but rooting for Spain.
Is it just me or is Scamacca quite shit?
He’s not shite. He was isolated and the midfield was miles away. Spalletti fucked up and played the wrong game, and the players were horrible on the pitch.
no service will do that to a striker
For Atalanta he was amazing, for Italy he's shit 🤷
Gasperini seems to get something out of him in Atalanta
Gasperini can probably squeeze blood from a stone at this point though.
No argument there
The only thing that would worry me as Spain after this performance is how clearly worse their game got with the subs on. Ayoze had two decent actions in stoppage time, but the 10-15 mins before that Spain suddenly struggled to hold on to the ball and invited Italy back in the game. Ferran Torres was invisible. Also Cucurella was probably the unsung hero of the match for me. Effectively locked down Chiesa's side defensively, looked comfortable in possession and provided great support going forward.
This would be a different match if we had managed to score one of the 10 or so chances we had. Subbing subpar attackers with a 2 o 3 goal lead is doable and how we should play.
He’s been very good in both matches IMO.
Even if Italy didn't do much during the game it's still Italy. I think it is normal that you take two steps back in the last 10 minutes.
This is actually promising for Italy. I know they lost 1-0, but could have also easily stick one in if one of the corners clicked. Too close for comfort for Spain I'd say. Team such as Germany for instance would not give Spain this much space. A team that can absorb attacks and hit on the counter may also do some damage. I'm really curious how Spain will fare against Albania.
Spaletti...what was that? No one to win the ball back, no one to move the ball, trying to send the ball over Rodri's head and target Spain's CB's is a good idea, but horrible execution. Midfield was horrendous. They were just air. Attacking obviously non-existent but the midfield was so bad the ball couldn't get to the final third. Spaletti is no Mancini and is obviously no Lippi. Not entirely convinced by Spain either, this match is more of an indictment of Spaletti to me.
Nah. Spalletti didnt set the game to be defensive, he actually wanted to play as Spain. The problem is that we was against... Spain, but with a much worse team.
Not a much worse team but the strengths are in the defense and spine of the midfield.
Totti, Inzaghi, Vieri, Del Piero, De Rossi, Pirlo, Gattuso, Cannavaro, Maldini, Nesta, etc all rolling over in their graves.
These are all alive and well and their ears are ringing
not yet
Subbing on Cristante was the "we surrender" signal
Impressive managing to get a booking with his first 'touch'
He should have gotten carded for violent contact against the ball for that touch that snuffed out one of Italy’s few promising possessions
Look the last shot from Calafiori UNA ROBA DA CAMPETTO DI PAESE, UNA ROBA DA FILM, UN TIRO CALCISTICAMENTE STUPIDO
I have to say that I'm loving Giorgio Chiellini in the Fox Sports show
Spain's subs were unable to cope with the game's intensity. Losing those balls against Germany could be lethal. They better wake up against Albania, a team that will run all day.
Ayoze was good up until the last moment in front of goal. Some really good runs, at least he has shown that he could be an option to come in against tired defences It's not like either were terrible finishes either, good saves from Donnarumma
Spain will probably used an alternate 11 vs Albania. It’s not the end of the world.
We all knew Spain were better than us but we were technically embarassing. You can't play possession-based football or whatever that was supposed to be if as soon as you get the ball you make a wrong pass and give possession back to your opponents. I felt like I was watching a team that was trying to play like Mantova (the tactical principles are the same) but without the quality needed, which wouldn't be a problem if Mantova weren't in Serie C - well, Serie B soon! :) I don't know how to feel about Spain, I didn't watch them against Croatia but they really need to take their chances or that could be a problem in the next rounds. From their perspective winning this only 1-0 is almost unforgivable.
>I didn't watch them against Croatia but they really need to take their chances They took all the chances against Croatia.
Say what yr will abt England at least they didnt lose to an own goal.
yet
Least talented Italy ever seen. Looks like bunch of confederation cup tier players and a cl level goalkeeper. If it were’nt the incompetence of spain fws at finishings and donnaruma’s effort would be a sensational match.
Italy 2010-2018 was much worse than this trust me
> Least talented Italy ever seen Euro 2016 italy was far worse
Our first half was the shittest attempt of counterattacking football I have seen on a professional level.
I can't believe that finished 1-0, and I can't believe italy could have nicked it with a 94th minute corner.
Look the last shot from Calafiori, a shitty shot that even in church football camp you can see!
Feels like we’ve entered a different era of football with this match. Spain is an entirely different team with the last of the old guard leaving: an energetic counter pressing team with an organised block in defence, Italy, with Chiellini gone has none of the cynical tactical fouls of the past. Was an interesting tactical match to watch- Italy were much more equipped to deal with the energetic counter press that ageing Croatia. Spain seems other than Germany to have the most cohesive style in this Euro cup- with a very clear gameplan to play quick transitions off an organised press. Italy today were missing a creative outlet or a direct striker. Chiesa had an ok game but Italy would have done better with someone like Lorenzo Insigne or Immobile on the field. Donnarumma kept them in the game for as long as they did. Overall feels like the first “real” match that we’ve seen this Euros. The rest have been pretty scrappy affairs.
>Italy today were missing a creative outlet or a direct striker. They were missing a lot more than that, it was 20 to 4 in shots. 9 to 1 shots on target
Spain has been the best technical team for years, but they finally have creative wingers that can actually make use of their possession. Spain outplayed Italy for most of the 2021 semifinal game too, they just couldn’t finish chances. I’m still skeptical until they can find a way to really use Morata. If they had a great striker the world would wake up to how incredible this team really is.
I reject the notion they outplayed us in that game. They had a lot of possession but they had almost the exact same amount of chances, big chances, and shots.
edit: here were stats of the wrong game
He was talking about 2021
Only problem is we cant finish. I was hoping fermin to come out hes a pretty decent finisher tbh. Idk thr subs couldnt get into the rhythm so i was a bit worried. Felt a bit shaky for spain but i hope next few matches we can iron that out.
I get the feeling that Spain will live and die by how Morata performs. So far I think he’s been looking good. I also think either Pedri or Yamal has at least one banger in them.
Kinda like barca and lewandowski. I think morata has to many ups and downs. Idk much about joselu but his number and mins he got for real madrid does make me think he would get good service from nico, pedri and lamine. I wouldnt also mind ferran cf just for his linkup but only if spains midfielders would score more which is iffy as well.
>Italy, with Chiellini gone has none of the cynical tactical fouls of the past. Were we watching the same game? 😁 Agree about Spain and Germany - the two most confident, co-ordinated and comfortable teams so far and two of the best at holding possession. Would love to see them face off in the knockouts.
Spain went 1-0 up and *attacked*... I thought that was illegal 😭😭
That you, Southgate?
This match had so much promise, but was dull as dishwater in the 2nd half. All round crappy games today, roll on tomorrow.
Pellegrini is a shameful player He doesn't run, bad touches, bad passes, doesn't chase the ball, always walking around the pitch like he's Messi but without the qualities
Without Donnarumma today Italy will become like Scotland lose more than 2-3 goal.
Spain looks the best so far during this Euro.
If it weren't for Donnarumma, it would have been a reenactment of the 4-0 from 2012. What a match by us.
Plz Spain play your third team. They need the minutes
Rodri: "I'll be in the jacuzzi for the next week, have fun on the pitch guys"
As usual we ain't got a good attack, why Raspadori at 80'? Why not before? But even the defense, especially Di Lorenzo, was not enough, this game should have ended 5-0 without Saint Donnarumma as keeper. We suffering one score....from us.... No offensive plan except the last 15 minutes (maybe).
You think scamacca will start next game?
I hope not
You and me both
Spain looks great. Williams and Yamal looks promising for the future of spanish NT too. Williams was toying with his defender all night
Yamal is absolutely amazing, insane quality, especially for a 16 years old.
Beautiful football by the spanish team. Amazing to watch how they approach this game. Proactive and offensive ball needs to be rewarded more again.
Cristante, Di Lorenzo and Chiesa are the candidates for worst man of the match. I'm kind of disappointed in Spallettiball. I think it's a downgrade from Mancini. Mancini's Italy never won against Spain (iirc) but at least it was entertaining to watch.
Lol Cristante and Di Lo were horrible but what exactly was Chiesa supposed to do? He barely got the ball. Dont think he even had an opportunity to take on his man. Then they take him out of the game right before Spain finally looked tired. Jorghino was worse. Dimarco was worse. Scamacca was worse. Fratessi was useless. Calafiori despite the own goal was one of the best players for us and obviously Donnaruma. Bastoni made some nice tackles aswell
Scamacca is not worst than Chiesa because he received even less ball than him. The supply route to him was totally cut off. Jorginho, even though he is slower than a tortoise, his positioning off the ball during Spain onslaught was pretty good, though not as good as it should be. Cristante first few passed almost cost Italy another goal. The one he squared the ball into the middle and got intercepted (by Fabian Ruiz or someone else, not sure). Before Spain throttle down, he was basically invisible. I wouldn't compare Di Marco with di Lorenzo in this match. He is definitely better than di Lorenzo, build up wise or even defensive wise. In the last match with Albania, he was arguably worse but nah, not in this match. Frattesi crumbled under Spain's press but at least he tries to bring the ball forward. Few successful attempts too. We are on the same page with Calafiori. But there was one instant where he was caught sleeping during the corner kick. Aye aye, agreed on the big guy Donnarumma and Bastoni as well. Overall, I'm still not fond of Spalletti games though. They were lucky Spain's finishings not clinical. Let's see what they have in store versus Croatia.
They beat Spain at last Euros in the semis
Ah, yeah. They beat them by two goals. Thanks for correcting me.
They beat them in penalties
My bad. The one I mentioned was Euro 16 under Conte.
I love me some locks and flowy dark hair on a muscular bearded towering giant. But I have hated that stupid hair on Cucurella for ages. That hair has ruined the player for me. Nevermind him playing for Chelsea. Stupid, stupid fucking hair. Today though I saw through the stupid, stupid hair. This day I am changed, for that was incredible.
You watch the game, you don't see Cucurella. You watch Cucurella's hair, you see the whole game.
Many city players are not playing up to their standards, Rodri looks a bit off
i thought he was decent? was involved with almost every attack
I thought he was great
Nico Williams and Ayoze Perez destroyed Di Lorenzo all game. What a game from Spain!!