Euro 2020: Italy vs. Spain Preview

Published

3 years ago

July 5, 2021

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Italy will face Spain in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 at Wembley in the presence of 60,000 spectators on Tuesday.

This will be a repeat of the 2012 Euro final when Spain ran out winners 4-0.

Between them, these 2 countries have won 4 European Championships amongst them.

No wonder, football fans across the world will be watching this contest with bated breath.

Team News

Leonardo Spinazzola suffered a terrible foot injury against Belgium and will be out of action for about six months.

This is a devastating blow to Italy as Spinazzola has redefined the role of ‘wing-back-winger’ and leaves Roberto Mancini with a major task of finding a replacement for the influential wing-back.

However, this injury can also galvanise the Italian squad.

There were moving scenes after the game as the team rallied around the Roma left-back, vowing to win the tournament for him.

Emerson might be the man to replace Spinazzola, although this is a switch that will surely weaken Italy’s threat from out wide.

Alessandro Florenzi is back in contention after a calf problem, but Mancini needs to decide whether to select him ahead of Giovanni Di Lorenzo for the right-back position.

Further up the field, Mancini has a wealth of attacking options, with the likes of in-form trio Matteo Pessino, Manuel Locatelli and Federico Chiesa pushing for starting berths.

Ciro Immobile put in a poor display in the match against Belgium and this might push him behind Andrea Belotti in the pecking order, for the centre-forward berth.

The biggest plus point is that Marco Verratti is back from injury and his ability to unlock the brittle Spanish defence with a killer pass will come in handy.

🇮🇹 Who'll be the main man for @azzurri ❓#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/lCy4JxRoTh
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 5, 2021

For Spain, PSG winger Pablo Sarabia is a major doubt after picking up a muscle injury against Switzerland.

Red Bull RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo is likely to cover in his absence.

Ferran Torres is likely to keep his place in the side and will link up alongside Dani Olmo and Alvaro Morata in attack.

However, there is an injury concern regarding Aymeric Laporte.

🇮🇹 Jorginho OR Sergio Busquets 🇪🇸: Who do you want controlling your midfield? 💪#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/eZp2S98UrX
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 5, 2021

Italy Predicted Team

Donnarumma, Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson, Barella, Jorginho, Verratti, Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne

Spain Predicted Team

Simon, Azpilicueta, Laporte, Torres, Alba, Koke, Busquets, Pedri, Torres, Morata, Olmo

Team form

Spain hasn’t hit the heights at Euro 2020, but still find themselves in the final four of the tournament.

After a sluggish start, the Spanish sparked into life with two five goal performances against Slovakia and Croatia.

Spain's road to the semi-finals 🇪🇸

⚽️ La Roja have scored 12 goals at EURO 2020 so far, equaling their highest-ever total at the EURO finals#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/CGCFfatLJo
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 5, 2021

The erratic form continued against the Swiss in the quarter-finals when La Roja weren’t at their best.

The creative flair needed to unlock a packed defense has been lacking.

Despite dominating the ball and chances, the play seems almost formulaic and too easy to predict.

This will certainly be cause for concern for Luis Enrique, especially after seeing how the Italians blunted the world-class Belgium attack.

Head to Head record

Spain have won 12, drawn 12 and lost just nine of their matches against the Azzurri.

Since 2000, they have been even more dominant, winning seven, drawing four and losing only two.

One of these came in Euro 2016.

The two heavyweights met in the Round of 16, with Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle sending Italy into the quarter-finals.

The two sides last met in World Cup 2018 qualifying with Spain winning 3-0 at the Bernabeu following a 1-1 draw at the Juventus Stadium.

However, Spain, along with Germany, are the joint most successful team in the history of the European Championship.

They won it in 1964 before achieving back-to-back crowns in 2008 and 2012.

Italy, meanwhile, have only won it once – back in 1968.

Prediction

Based on current form, we expect Italy to beat Spain 2-0.

WATCH: Georgina Rodriguez makes huge claim on Cristiano Ronaldo’s retirement in Football

Published

8 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Georgina Rodriguez made a huge claim on the future of her husband and star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Football. In a brief interaction with a host recently, Rodriguez was asked about the time left for Cristiano to make an impact at the highest level. Georgina looked honest in her approach to the question of the host and claimed something the fans would not love to hear.

Georgina claimed that the Portugal star has maybe one year more from him at the highest level. She felt that Ronaldo might play two more years before retiring and not more than that. She was however not sure if he would play for just one or two years and added that the Al Nassr star could also play more than that.

Watch the video of Georgina Rodriguez here –

🚨🎙️| Georgina Rodriguez on Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Paris Fashion Week yesterday:

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know.”

(via @ArobaseGiovanny)pic.twitter.com/4dxw2j5DuC

— Pubity Sport (@pubitysport) March 3, 2024

“Cristiano one more year, then it’s over. Maybe two, I don’t know,” said Rodriguez in the little chat she had with the host. The video has gone viral on X and the fans have started sharing it on different platforms. Some of the fans feel that Georgina might be right, while others feel that she could be wrong, given the fitness and longevity of the star player.

Legacy of Cristiano Ronaldo

On the 5th of February, Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday. He is currently one of the oldest players in the world. In the past, players at this age would have retired way back. But the fitness and consistency of Ronaldo make him play the sport as long as he wishes. In his career so far, Ronaldo has won many major leagues for Portugal and league teams like Real Madrid, Al Nassr, and Manchester United.

With United, Portugal won some major leagues like the FA Cup and the Champions League. With Real Madrid, the 39-year-old won the leagues like the UCL, Copa Del Rey and La Liga. He won it three consecutive times for Real Madrid. For Portugal, Cristiano had a huge contribution to Portugal. He has the most number of appearances and goals for an international team and won the Euro 2016 with Portugal.

FOOTBALL

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham slapped with Red Card as he argued with referee

Published

8 months ago

March 3, 2024

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Jude Bellingham shown Red Card (Image Credit: Twitter)

England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham was slapped with a Red Card during the La Liga game against Valencia. In the game, the home team, Valencia was leading by 2-0 after 30 minutes before Madrid scored in the injury time of the first half. Vinicius Junior opened the scoring for Madrid while Hugo Duro (27′) and Roman Yaremchuk (30′) scored a goal each.

In the 76th minute, Junior scored an equalizer to keep the team in the game. However, in the injury time of the second half, Bellingham was given a red card as he argued with the referee against calling it a full-time before he could score. In reply, the match official decided to slap the England international with a Red Card. The team coach Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t happy with the verdict as the Three Lions player was making a pass at the time.

Jude Bellingham verbally abusing officials and other footballers at the slightest provocation needs to be talked about more. It’s embarrassing he gets applauded by Real Madrid Fans.

Mason Greenwood should’ve allowed La Liga to deal with this simp. pic.twitter.com/ixYSw6YxaC

— Herman Facundo© (@hermanfacundo_7) March 3, 2024

“I think what’s just happened is unprecedented. It’s never happened to me,” Ancelotti told reporters.

“We had possession of the ball and the match should have been finished when Valencia had the ball.

“What bothers us is the red card for Bellingham because he didn’t say anything insulting. He was frustrated of course,” said Ancelotti, adding that Bellingham had used a common English swearword when telling the referee it was a goal.

We are annoyed with Jude Bellingham’s Red Card: Carlo Ancelotti

“We were annoyed with Bellingham’s red card. He didn’t say any insults. He said in English ‘it’s a f—ing goal,’ but he was just saying what we were all thinking … [The referee] allowed play to continue. I think he made a mistake.”

“[Bellingham] was clear in what he said,” Ancelotti added. “He was quite vehement [in his reaction] but that’s normal, after what happened. It wasn’t an insult, not at all.”

FOOTBALL

PL 2023-24: MCFC vs MUFC Dream11 Prediction, Playing XI, Fantasy League Today’s Captain, Vice-Captain, and more for Manchester derby

Published

8 months ago

March 2, 2024

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Super Sunday is set to witness the Manchester Derby in the Premier League 2023-24. The match between Manchester City (MCFC) and Manchester United (MUFC) is set to take place in Etihad Stadium, the home ground of Manchester City. The two teams have had a contrasting journey in the league till now. The fortunes of City changed ever since Pep Guardiola took over the club as the manager.

While the home side are placed in the second position in the points table currently, United are in the sixth place in the points table. In their previous encounter, City hammered Luton Town by 6-2 in the FA Cup. United have shown massive improvements in the last few weeks after not having a good start to their campaign. United were involved in a thrilling game where they beat Nottingham Forrest by 1-0 in their last game.

Both teams feature some of the best players in the world. The likes of Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Marcus Rashford, Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, and others would be taking part in the match. Manchester City will start the match as the favourites, given their record in the ongoing league so far and the match taking place in their home. United with their improved record can challenge the home side.

MCFC vs MUFC – Match Details

Match – Manchester City (MCFC) vs Manchester United (MUFC), Premier League 2023-24

Venue – Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Date and Time – 3^rd March 2024, 21:00 IST

Live Coverage – Star Sports Network and Disney plus Hot Star

MCFC vs MUFC – Head-to-Head

Both the teams from Manchester have a rich history in the sport. they have been up against each other in 191 instances. In as many games, Manchester United have been historically the better side with 78 wins to their name. City have managed to win 60 wins, as 53 games ended in a draw. In the last five games between the two sides in the Premier League, City have won four of the five games.