Spain and Italy meet in the second Nations League semi-final on Thursday to decide which team takes on Croatia in Sunday’s final.
Spain is favored in the match-up with bookmaker William Hill offering odds at 1.67 for La Roja to advance. The odds are at 2.10 for Italy to get through to the final.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 14th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
The teams meet in the Nations League semi-finals for a second consecutive tournament. Italy hosted the final four two years ago and was knocked out at the semi-final stage by a pair of Ferran Torres goals. It was a rough outing all around for Italy as Leonardo Bonucci was sent off in the first half and it made it impossible to compete with the Spaniards. Can the Azzurri now get their revenge?
Italy’s form has been shaky ever since the 2020 Euros triumph but Spain isn’t exactly prospering either. The team suffered an early exit at the World Cup and the 2024 Euros qualifying tournament has kicked off with mixed results. With former under-21s manager Luis de la Fuente the new man in charge, Spain kicked off the qualifiers with a solid 3-0 victory over Norway but then got rocked by Scotland in a 2-0 defeat.
Some reports are suggesting that de la Fuente is already under pressure to deliver results and this makes the two games played at the Nations League Finals very important for him and the team.
Italy has kicked off the new qualifying campaign with a win and a loss as well, but the team also had a very tough opening fixture when it faced England in a Euros final rematch. The big match ended in a 2-1 loss before the Italians bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Malta.
Spain is one of only eight sides that has managed to inflict a defeat on a Roberto Mancini-led Italy team. He’s been in charge since 2018 and 36 of the previous 59 games under him have ended in victories. It’s been very tough to score against his team, with Italy conceding only 0.69 goals per game under Mancini, and the side’s attacking record is very strong with over two goals scored on average.
There typically isn’t a lot separating the two sides and the historic results prove it as well. Spain has won 13 of the previous clashes and Italy has triumphed 11 times. However, based on results across 90 minutes of action, the Italians have beaten Spain just once in the last 10 head-to-head meetings.
