UEFA Nations League: Spain defeat Italy 2-1, will face Croatia in final
Jun 16, 2023
Enschede [Netherland], June 16 : Spain defeated Italy 2-1 in the semi-final match of the UEFA Nations League on Friday at the De Grolsch Veste Stadium in Enschede.
The final of the UEFA Nations League will be played on Monday between Croatia and Spain.
Spain scored an early goal as Yeremy Pino took advantage of the mistake of Italy's defender Leonardo Bonucci and put the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give Spain an advantage.
Yeremy Pino scored in the third minute of the match.
Italy gave a quick reply, as they were awarded a penalty early in the game. Ciro Immobile scored in the 11th minute of the match from a penalty kick to level the game at 1-1.
The first half ended as a draw as both teams attacked well. Spain looked more threatening while attacking in the first half.
In the second half, Spain scored in the last moments of the game. In the 88th minute, Joselu scored a tap-in to give Spain a 2-1 lead in the match.
Italy failed to find a goal to take the match into extra time thus Spain emerged victorious and advanced to the final match.
Spain took a total of 19 shots out of which seven were on target. They had a total of 63 percent of possession of the ball during the match. They completed a total of 648 passes with an accuracy of 87 percent.
Italy took eight shots out of which three were on target. They had a total of 37 percent of possession of the ball during the match. They completed a total of 391 passes with an accuracy of 78 percent.
Spain is now managed by Luis de la Fuente after Luis Enrique left the post after the FIFA World Cup exit in the round of 16.
