From the moment Italy kicked off Euro 2020 on opening night at the Stadio Olimpico, they had the look of champions-elect.
That wasn’t always the case in their semi-final win over Spain, but the Azzurri will now have the opportunity to live up to their early-tournament billing with a final against Denmark or England on Sunday.
All things considered, no team at Euro 2020 has underlined their credentials like the Azzurri have.
Roberto Mancini has turned Italy into a dynamic, modern outfit, the antithesis of the country’s archetypal footballing identity, but even as his master plan faltered here, they had enough within them. In relative weakness, this was a show of strength.
'Comfortable in their own skin'
For long spells, this was a contest that demonstrated the apparent condition of both teams. While Spain are stuck between generations, and footballing ideologies, Italy are more comfortable in their own skin, aware of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Until late on, Mancini’s side looked to be executing their game plan well enough to send them through in 90 minutes.
Spain’s game plan, though, was a good one. Pre-match, much was made of the battle between the two best midfielders at Euro 2020.
While Italy’s trio of Nicolo Barella, Jorginho and Marco Verratti caught the eye with their dynamism earlier in the tournament, it was the control of Sergio Busquets, Koke and Pedri that gave Spain, who claimed a 70% share of possession, the advantage.
By making this alteration, Italy leaned even further into their counter-attacking approach with Berardi, Chiesa and Insigne all capable of breaking out at pace.
This was a pattern that Enrique surely would have envisaged as a nightmare scenario for Spain before kick off. With a lead to protect, Italy were allowed to sit back, close off the space in behind Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini and ask Spain, frequently criticised for a lack of cutting edge, to play through them.
Spain substitutes expose Italy frailties
While the situation was perfectly set for Italy, their one-on-one defending wasn’t up to much. Alvaro Morata’s introduction unsettled them, with the Spanish striker willing to run in behind in a way Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal weren’t. Morata’s goal got Spain back on level terms, but the dynamic of the match had changed before then.