Spain did everything right against Italy. Except score.
It was enough for victory anyway.
Riccardo Calafiori headed an own goal – and the Spaniards won the European Championship match 1–0.
The three points mean that Spain is clear for the round of 16, with one group stage match left to play.
1–0 via an own goal may sound like a narrow win, but this Spanish victory was crystal clear.
In the 3–0 win over Croatia in the premiere, Spain was brutally efficient. You can't say that they were this time.
But superior, Spain was.
Directed and controlled
The Spaniards directed and controlled the match throughout – everything worked. Except for that last bit.
Spain created chance after chance, without getting a reward.
But when Nico Williams in the second half had turned inside out the Italian defenders and sent in a cross, the ball ended up in the goal anyway, via the unfortunate Riccardo Calafiori. The young Bologna defender didn't have time to get his bearings and fell to the ground with his face in the grass when he realised he had scored an own goal.
After the Spanish leading goal, a previously listless Italy came to life. At least a bit. But the Italians, who started the European Championship by beating Albania 2–1, failed to get past Unai Simon in the Spanish goal.
I'm very pleased that it went our way. Everyone in the team worked like animals. We have shown that we intend to do something big in the European Championship, says Nico Williams in SVT's broadcast.
"Spain was better"
Italy's national team coach Luciano Spalletti was well aware that his team was never really close.
After we made a couple of substitutions and got some fresh legs in, we created some situations that could have given us a point, but Spain was much better than us and won deservedly, he says.
In the final group stage match on Monday, full-pointers Spain face Albania. For Italy, Croatia awaits.
