Spain is the best with the ball, but Italy is close behind. The European Championship moves between the counterpunchers and the dominators, and both Luis Enrique What Mancini they have chosen the second option. The Red moves to the rhythm that marks Busquets, flanked by Koke and Pedri, while the Squadra Azurra trust your game to Verratti and Jorginho, helped by Barella.
Tomorrow will be the fourth consecutive meeting of Italy and Spain in the European Championship of National Teams. The streak began in 2008 with the remembered penalty shootout from Cesc. Both teams met again in the glorious final of 2012, with Boxes asking for the time out of respect for the Italian team, which took their revenge in 2016, eliminating Spain in the Euro Cup in France.
But in those three games there was a dominating team, Spain, and another that sought the counter, which was Italy. Especially in the third of the clashes, disputed in Paris, in which Antonio Conte successfully resorted to the three centrals to stop the National Team, which had already started its decline two years earlier, in the Brazil World Cup. Italy won, but that was not the worst. The worst thing was Conte's behavior, very disrespectful to the bench Forest.
Centrals. But now we are facing another Italy. Mancini represents the opposite of Conte, On and off the field. The one that was '10' of the Sampdoria he trains how he plays: all talent. He wants his team to have the ball and dominate. Suffer without the ball.
The problem is that opposite will be the Spain of Luis Enrique who, without reaching the levels of that of Luis AragonéYes, it has some scary numbers. Spain is the leader in possession of the championship with 67.2 percent, while Italy is third, behind Germany, already eliminated with 55.8 percent. Spain is the first in passing precision with a hit of 89.4 percent, while Italy is fifth with 88.4.
There is only one data favorable to Italians in comparison with Spain: La Azzurra shoots more at the goal of its rivals, up to 101 times for the 95 of Spain, but with one hour less of play after the two overtimes that Luis Enrique's team overcame.
The key to Italy, beyond that good ball handling, they are his two experienced centrals. Chiellini (36 years) and Bonucci (34) they maintain the mythical solidity of the Italian defenses in force. But Spain has a good solution because one of its strengths is the wing play. Pau Torres, Alba and Pedri form a magic triangle on the left and Laporte, Dani Olmo (Sarabia is injured) and Koke they do the same for the right. The Spain-Italy at Wembley will also be a tactical duel, and that is why both Mancini and Luis Enrique will try to make good the maxim that the best defense is a good attack. And for that the first thing is to have possession, to be the owner of the ball.