Teams Italy
Spain Most wins Italy (11)
Spain (10) | Meetings total 36 | |
First meeting Spain 2–0 Italy
(2 September 1920) Latest meeting Italy 1–1 Spain
(6 October 2016) Next meeting Spain – Italy
(2 September 2017) | ||
The Italy–Spain football rivalry is a football rivalry between the national football teams of Italy and Spain, having achieved five FIFA World Cup between the two countries. They have played against each other three times in the World Cup and five times in the UEFA European Championship. Most notably, the two met at the UEFA Euro 2012 Final, which Spain won 4–0. They have also met at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Contents
- List of matches
- Comparison of Italys and Spains positions in major international tournaments
- 1934 World Cup
- Euro 1988
- 1994 World Cup
- Euro 2008
- Penalty shoot out
- Euro 2012
- 2013 Confederations Cup
- Euro 2016
- Overall
- References
Italy have won a total of 11 meetings, slightly edging Spain's 10 wins.
The last meeting ended in a 1–1 draw in at Juventus Stadium, Turin, in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match on 6 October 2016.
List of matches
Comparison of Italy's and Spain's positions in major international tournaments
Denotes which team finished better in that particular competition
FTQ – Failed to qualify
DNP – Did not participate
1934 World Cup
On 31 May, Italy faced Spain in the quarter-final of the 1934 FIFA World Cup, where the two sides drew 1–1 after extra time with Spanish goal by Luis Regueiro in the 30th minute and Italian goal by Giovanni Ferrari in the 44th minute. They then faced off again in the replay match the following day to settle the team that advances; Italy won the replay 1–0 win the goal coming from Giuseppe Meazza in the 11th minute. Italy went on to win their first World Cup title.
Euro 1988
On 14 June, Italy and Spain were matched up for the second match in the group stage, where Italy won 1–0 with the goal coming from Gianluca Vialli in the 73rd minute. Italy went on to win their last group match, while Spain lost theirs; Italy made it out of the group, while Spain did not.
1994 World Cup
On 9 July, Italy won the quarter-final match up against Spain in the 1994 World Cup 2–1 quarter-final at Foxboro Stadium, with Italian Dino Baggio scoring first in the 25th minute, the Spaniards equalised with a goal from José Luis Caminero in the 58th minute, before Roberto Baggio sealed the Italian victory in the 88th minute. A controversy in the match was Mauro Tassotti's elbow on Spanish player Luis Enrique, but during the match the incident went unpunished – Tassotti was later banned for eight games.
Euro 2008
On 22 June, Italy and Spain were matched up for a quarter-final in Euro 2008; the game ended a goalless draw after 120 minutes and resulted in a penalty shoot-out which Spain won 4–2. Spain went on to win the European Championship for the second time.
Penalty shoot-out
Euro 2012
On 1 July, Spain and Italy were matched up for the final of Euro 2012. Spain took the lead in the 14th minute, though, when Andrés Iniesta played a through-ball to Cesc Fàbregas, who drove past Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini to the by-line before pulling back a cross for David Silva to head into the net from six yards. Chiellini was clearly struggling with a thigh injury he had picked up in the earlier rounds, and he was replaced by Federico Balzaretti after 20 minutes. Italy responded with a couple of shots from Antonio Cassano that were saved by Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, but Spain doubled their lead before half-time when Xavi picked out left-back Jordi Alba, who capped a long forward run with a precise finish past Gianluigi Buffon in the Italy goal.
Antonio Di Natale came on for Cassano at half-time and twice went close to scoring, the second effort forcing a save from the onrushing Casillas. Italy's final substitution saw Thiago Motta replace Riccardo Montolivo, but he soon suffered a hamstring injury; with all of their substitutes used, Italy had to play the last 30 minutes of the match with ten men. Fernando Torres replaced Fàbregas with 15 minutes left to play, and scored in the 84th minute – assisted by Xavi – to become the first man to score in two European Championship finals. Torres then turned provider four minutes later, cutting the ball back with the outside of his boot for fellow substitute and Chelsea forward Juan Mata to sweep into an empty net for a final score of 4–0, the widest margin of victory in any European Championship final. Spain became the first team to retain the European Championship title and also the first European team to win three major international competitions in a row.
2013 Confederations Cup
On 27 June, the semi-final of the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil was contested between Italy and Spain, where after a goalless 120 minutes, Spain won 7–6 in the resulting penalty shoot-out; Italy's Leonardo Bonucci was the only player to miss.
Penalty shoot-out
Euro 2016
On 27 June, Italy and Spain matched up for the round of 16 in the Euro 2016, which saw Italy win 2–0 with goals from Giorgio Chiellini in the 33rd minute and Graziano Pellè in stoppage time of the second half. Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea made several impressive saves to keep Spain in the match, notably on Pellè's first half header attempt, however it ultimately ended in defeat, as Spain were eliminated from the tournament.
Overall
Draws include penalty shoot-outs