The past two World Cup champions faced off in the opening
match of Group C yesterday. The highly
anticipated match had its fair share of excitement and frustration for both
sets of fans and neither can be unhappy with the 1-1 result.
Coming into Euro 2012 there were many questions surrounding
who would feature for Spain at striker.
The absence of David Villa has left a void at the striker position and
rather than attempting to fill it with Torres, Negredo, or Llorente, Vicente
Del Bosque opted to forego fielding a true striker. The role was filled by a combination of David
Silva, Cesc Fabregas, and Andreas Iniesta who all took a turn rotating into the
role.
Cesare Prandelli opted to field a 3-5-2 formation to counter
Spain’s striker-less formation, with Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi filling
in at the defender position. With
neither side utilizing a conventional lineup, the match began with
uncertainty. The pitch at the Arena
Gdansk looked like it had not been watered in days prompting complaints from
the Spaniards following the match. Both
sides enjoyed chances in the early minutes, but they were expertly turned aside
by the keeper captains.
Spain’s six midfielders constantly harassed the Italians in
possession, expertly pressing the ball at almost all times in the early
stages. Italy enjoyed the majority of
the chances in the first half, forcing Iker Casillas to make several saves
including a header from Thiago Motta just before the halftime whistle. Spain’s best opportunities also came shortly
before the half, with the best coming from Andreas Iniesta who missed high over
the bar.
Spain began the second half attacking with fervor, with
Fabregas and Iniesta forcing saves from Buffon and Xavi Hernandez missing just
wide of the Italian goal. Italy
responded with Mario Balotelli dispossessing Sergio Ramos and breaking down the
left flank, but as the mercurial Italian striker closed in on Casillas’ goal he
was dispossessed from behind after holding onto the ball for too long. It was a prime opportunity spoiled by the
young striker and he was replaced four minutes later by Antionio Di Natale.
Di Natale’s impact on the match was immediately felt. Andrea Pirlo dribbled through the Spanish
midfield and found Di Natale with a precise through ball and the substitute’s
first touch of the match was a shot that beat Iker Casillas and opened the
scoring. The veteran striker celebrated
enthusiastically with his teammates as the defending World Cup and Euro
champions returned to the center circle to plot their response.
Spain's response came just a few minutes later, a spectacular
ball from David Silva found the streaking Cesc Fabregas and the Barcelona
midfielder buried the equalizer past Gigi Buffon. The Spanish fans celebrated wildly, while their
team quickly returned to the center circle, eager to turn the level result into
a win. Immediately following his piece
of genius, David Silva gave way for Jesus Navas, as Vicente Del Bosque sought
to inject more speed into the Spanish attack to earn them a victory. Fernando Torres warmed up on the sidelines
for a few additional minutes before replacing the goalscorer Fabregas.
Immediately following his introduction, Torres found himself
one on one with Buffon, but as the out-of-form Chelsea striker attempted to
round the keeper, he was dispossessed and an opportunity went begging for the
defending champions. Italy responded
with an opportunity of their own and Di Natale narrowly missed on a side volley
from the six yard box. Torres responded
by nearly gave Spain a winning goal in the 85th minute, but his
effort sailed just over the bar.
The closing minutes of the match featured scoring opportunities
from both sides. Claudio Marchisio and
Thiago Motta played a quick one-two that allowed Marchisio to find his way into
the opposition penalty area, but his shot went straight into the waiting hands
of Casillas. Spain responded with an
attack just before the final whistle, with Iniesta beating three men before
leaving it for Navas who found Xabi Alonso, but the eventual shot ran wide of
the post. The final whistle sounded and
the 1-1 result was a fair result for both sides.
The unusual tactics gave way to some beautiful football
throughout the match. Both sides had
wasted scoring opportunities that could have earned them the victory, but
neither could be unhappy with the result.
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