Spain vs. Italy Preview

Reigning World and European champions Spain kick-off their continental title defence against Italy in Gdansk on Sunday June 10, hoping for a livelier start than they experienced in South Africa two years ago.

Despite going on to lift the World Cup in rather consummate fashion, Spain were in fact beaten by Switzerland in their opening group match, a result which did much to shock spectators and punters who expected the Iberians to hit the ground running.

Italy will, on paper, represent a much sterner test than the Swiss did for this first match of Group C however things could prove to be rather straightforward for Vicente del Bosque’s men considering the current trouble and controversy which is surrounding Italian football and the Azzurri.

Another suspected match fixing scandal has hit the country which has been frequently plagued by similar events in the recent past.

And after rumours suggested that a possible Euro 2012 withdrawal was on the cards after coach Cesare Prandelli was forced to drop players from his squad due to on-going investigations, confidence in the Italians is unlikely to be high amongst backers and supporters.

It will certainly be interesting to see whether or not the whole debacle ruins the Azzurri campaign or if it simply serves to drive on the team who may be adamant to prove a point to the rest of Europe. If the latter is the case, Prandelli’s side will not have a better chance to immediately restore some pride.

Spain will be a massive hurdle for the Italians to overcome nonetheless and their ageing ranks could struggle to contain a settled, experienced and well established midfield containing the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.

That trio have set the world alight for both club and country over the past few seasons and it is difficult to envisage a rather makeshift looking Italy being able to compete and create enough chances over the course of ninety minutes.

Andrea Pirlo is still respected as a world class player and the Juventus man will once again provide his country with a firm anchor in front of the back four.

But the players around him, on the main, do not seem to be cut from quite the same cloth and Italy may be overrun especially if they concede early on. Their recent 3-0 friendly defeat to Russia certainly set the alarm bells ringing and suggested that the squad may be lacking in cohesion as well as positive preparation.

Spain will fancy their chances of topping the group and a draw would not be the worst result in the world for them with winnable games against Croatia and the Republic of Ireland to come later in the group phase.

A drab 0-0 stalemate ensued when these two nations met at the championship four years ago and that would not be a surprising outcome this time around.

But on the whole, Spain should really have too much for their opponents based on comparative quality and the current circumstances surrounding the ageing Italians. Spain arewidely available at 5/6 to triumph and that is likely to be far more popular amongst punters than the 9/4 for a draw and 4/1 for an Italian success.

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04/06/2012     © Frixo 2026