Spain vs Italy – Five memorable games between the teams | OneFootball

Spain and Italy resume rivalries at Euro 2024 this evening, the fifth consecutive European Championship in which the teams have met.

With five World Cup wins and five European Championship titles between them, the two nations are among football’s proudest and tonight’s encounter will be another must-watch instalment in their rivalry.

Ahead of the game, we’ve remembered five memorable clashes between Spain and Italy.

Italy 1-0 Spain – World Cup quarter-final replay (1934)

The first competitive meeting between the teams came in the 1934 World Cup, as hosts Italy took on Spain in the quarter-finals.

Both teams had reached the last eight impressively with the Azzurri thrashing the United States 7-1 in the Round of 16, while Spain beat Brazil 3-1 in the previous round.

Giovanni Ferrari’s goal cancelled out Luis Regueiro’s opener for Spain in a 1-1 draw between the teams in Florence, with a replay played the following day to decide the tie.

Giuseppe Meazza scored an 11th-minute winner to seal a 1-0 win for Italy, who went on to become Europe’s first World Cup winners on home soil.

Italy 2-1 Span – World Cup quarter-final (1994)

Roberto Baggio scored a dramatic winner as Italy beat Spain in an ill-tempered World Cup quarter-final at USA ’94.

Baggio’s brilliance was the driving force in the Azzurri’s run to the final and ‘The Divine Ponytail’ rounded the goalkeeper to fire in an 88th-minute winner in Foxborough.

Dino Baggio’s superb strike had put Italy ahead in the contest but José Luis Caminero’s deflected drive levelled for Spain. The Spanish were left incensed after being denied a penalty when an elbow from Mauro Tassotti on Luis Enrique was missed in injury time, as La Roja chased an equaliser.

Spain 4-0 Italy – European Championship final (2012)

Spain were the dominant force in international football as the noughties became the 2010s, as La Roja won three consecutive major tournaments. The Spaniards’ spellbinding brand of football saw them fail to concede a single knockout stage goal across the three tournaments and culminated in a 4-0 thrashing of Italy at Euro 2012.

The Azzurri had eliminated England and Germany en route to the final but were no match for Spain’s pass masters in the decider. David Silva opened the scoring with a header and Jordi Alba doubled the lead before half-time.

Juan Mata and Fernando Torres scored late goals for Spain who recorded the biggest winning margin in a European Championship final.

Spain 3-0 Italy – World Cup qualification (2017)

Spain and Italy were drawn together in qualification for the 2018 World Cup and it was the Spanish who stormed to top spot. Italy were unbeaten in qualifiers for over a decade but were a sorry second-best at the Bernabeu.

Isco scored twice for the hosts in a superb Spanish performance before substitute Alvaro Morata turned in a third from Sergio Ramos’ cross after a breakaway late on.

Italy were condemned to the playoffs and lost 1-0 to Sweden over two legs, missing out on the World Cup for the first time since 1958.

Italy 1-1 Spain, Italy win 4-2 on penalties – European Championship semi-final (2021)

Spain were beaten in a semi-final for the first time in their history after a shootout defeat to Italy at Euro 2020.

Roberto Mancini’s Italy team had entered the tournament on a long unbeaten run and stretched their run without defeat to 33 games to book a place in the final. Federico Chiesa’s curler put the Azzurri in front at Wembley, but Alvaro Morata came off the bench to force extra-time with an equaliser for Spain.

However, Morata went from hero to zero in the shootout. The Spanish striker missed his side’s fourth kick, allowing Jorginho to step up and seal Italy’s place in the decider.

Read – Spain vs Italy – Combined XI ahead of Euro 2024 clash

See more – Euro 2008 – Xavi and Spain’s pass masters finally end decades of underachievement

Subscribe to our social channels:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok