Spain vs Italy LIVE!

One of the highlights of the whole Euro 2024 group stage takes place tonight as two European heavyweights face off in Gelsenkirchen. After each winning their opening game of Group B, dispatching Croatia and Albania respectively in this tournament’s ‘group of death’, this game looks to be a shootout for top spot.

La Roja stormed into a 3-0 half-time lead against Croatia were lucky to escape unscathed from an attempted second-half comeback, before the Azzurri responded to going behind after just 23 seconds to Albania, winning 2-1 but without truly impressing enough to dispel those pre-tournament doubters.

One point will be enough for either team to seal their spot in the knockout stages, after Croatia and Albania drew yesterday, but do not expect Spain and Italy to play for a draw tonight. An easier passage will await the winner of the group. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog.

Spain vs Italy latest updates

• GOAL! Calafiori own goal for dominant La Roja

22:00 , Alex Young

Thanks for following along with our blog!

Full-time!

21:54 , Alex Young

96min: Spain are into the last-16 stage. Italy have a few questions to answer.

A late corner from Italy, which saw Donnarumma come up, is thwarted... and Spain hold on to win!

21:49 , Alex Young

91min: Four minutes added on.

21:45 , Alex Young

86min: Bit of a scuffle at the corner as Retegui and Le Normand battle at a corner, but then sees the delivery fly into Simon’s grateful arms.

21:40 , Alex Young

81min: Pellegrini’s night is over, Raspadori is on.

21:36 , Alex Young

77min: Spain starting to retreat as the clock ticks down.

An opportunity for Italy?

21:31 , Alex Young

72min: Double change for Spain. Yamal and Pedri replaced by Torres and Baena.

OFF THE BAR!

21:30 , Alex Young

70min: Williams with a stunning curling effort that beats Donnarumma but not the crossbar.

So unlucky.

21:28 , Alex Young

69min: Le Normand into the book for a foul on Zaccagni.

21:27 , Alex Young

66min: A chance for Italy as Zaccagni whips in a cross, but Retegui can’t get on the end of it.

21:23 , Alex Young

64min: Scamacca replaced by Retegui. A tough night for the forward.

21:18 , Alex Young

59min: Le Normand denied! A towering header from the corner, which Cambiaso clears off the line.

21:17 , Alex Young

58min: Morata from distance to force a corner. Spain pushing for a quick second.

GOAL!

21:14 , Alex Young

55min: It’s been coming, the only surprise is that it’s an own goal!

Williams key, of course, cutting it back for Morata to get a slight touch... and Calafiori knees it into his own net.

21:12 , Alex Young

53min: Pedri again, this time from 20 yards, fires a shot down Donnarumma’s throat.

CHANCE!

21:11 , Alex Young

52min: Pedri misses another sitter!

Cucurella does brilliantly to get to the byline, and Pedri just needs to get it on target... but doesn’t. Side-foots it wide from 12 yards.

21:10 , Alex Young

51min: Italy break over the halfway line through Scamacca, who has Chiesa thundering through the centre to support... the striker tries to find his team-mate, but the pass has too much spice on it.

21:08 , Alex Young

49min: Rodri is back up as Spain win a corner off of Dimarco’s bonce.

21:06 , Alex Young

47min: Cristante picks up a yellow card after 20 seconds for wiping out Rodri!

Rodri looks in a lot of pain.

21:05 , Alex Young

46min: A couple of changes for Italy. Jorginho and Frattesi replaced by Cristante and Cambiaso.

Second half!

21:03 , Alex Young

46min: Back under way.

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A word for Yamal, too. He has taken the night off doing homework to teach some lessons of his own.

20:51 , Alex Young

Nico Williams the standout in that half. Remarkable talent.

Half-time!

20:48 , Alex Young

48min: That’s half-time! Somehow Spain have not scored.

20:48 , Alex Young

46min: Chiesa has just gone through the back of Cucurella. Entirely pointless, but escapes a booking.

20:47 , Alex Young

46min: Two minutes added on.

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43min: Le Normand is dragged back by Calafiori and sent flying.

Surely that’s a booking for the Italy defender. But the referee does not agree.

20:43 , Alex Young

41min: Pedri drives towards the box yet again, this time playing off to Morata who runs into trouble before Ruiz sends a snap shot down Donnarumma’s throat.

Italy just cannot get out.

20:41 , Alex Young

39min: Williams, to Pedri, back Williams inside the area... but Pellegrini gets in a vital block.

Italy hanging on.

20:37 , Alex Young

36min: Di Lorenzo fouls Williams. Not for the first time.

20:37 , Alex Young

35min: Pedri with a smart turn and lunge towards the Italy defence, Morata makes a brilliantly run behind Jorginho but he isn’t found.

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32min: Le Normand clatters into Barella, sending the small Italian up into the air and onto his back.

Looks painful, but he gets back up.

20:30 , Alex Young

29min: Yamal spots Rodri in acres on the edge of the area, but his sweeped shot is blocked by Bastoni.

Wave after wave.

20:27 , Alex Young

26min: Corner comes to nothing.

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25min: Fabian Ruiz stings Donnarumma’s fingertips from distance. Stunning effort, even better save.

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24min: Almost!

This time it’s from the other flank though as Yamal ducks inside with a glorious first choice, leaves Dimarco with dust in his face, before releasing Morata - but the striker waits too long to pull the trigger.

20:23 , Alex Young

21min: Williams is having the time of his life again Di Lorenzo. Surely only a matter of time before that battle bores fruit for Spain.

20:19 , Alex Young

17min: Spain still dominating possession, but at least Italy have some sort of shape about them now.

Yamal starting to see more of the ball.

20:15 , Alex Young

13min: Half a sight of goal for Scamacca, before the flag goes up. Italy have not got going yet.

20:12 , Alex Young

10min: How many chances?!

Williams has to score, simply has to. The ball from Morata is inch-perfect and Williams as the goal gaping to get his attempt on target... and doesn’t.

20:08 , Alex Young

6min: Italy have managed to do that somewhat, as Pellegrini goes down under a tough challenge from Pedri and stays down. Hurt or not, his team-mates will appreciate the breather.

20:05 , Alex Young

4min: It’s been a fast start. Italy need to get a foot on the ball and calm things down.

CHANCE!

20:04 , Alex Young

2min: Almost an opener another 90 seconds!

Williams does superbly to get to the byline and stands one up beautifully for Pedri to head towards goal, which Donnarumma does brilliantly to palm over the bar.

Kick-off!

20:01 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

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A very lively, anthem. Top tier. Now to Spain, which has more majesty to it for me.

19:56 , Alex Young

The national anthems are getting belted out. Italy for it.

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Here come the teams.

19:52 , Alex Young

Great stat.

19:50 , Alex Young

More food-based fighting talk. Not sure I agree with this one, though.

Mendieta on Williams

19:40 , Alex Young

"Nico Williams has the talent to replace Mohamed Salah at Liverpool. Although he's very young, he's dealt with a lot of pressure already, not only in Athletic Bilbao but also with the Spain national team.

"He’s incredible 1v1. He can play on both wings, although on the left, I think he gives more to the team. He could play for Liverpool, the way they use wingers.

"Luckily for Athletic Bilbao, players from Bilbao love to play for this club and they play in Europe next year, so if someone wants to sign him they need to be prepared to pay."

(Speaking to OLBG.)

19:30 , Alex Young

Half an hour until kick-off. The atmosphere is building.

19:18 , Alex Young

Friends now, how about in three hours?

Team news

19:13 , Alex Young

So, it’s one change for Spain as Laporte comes in for Nacho having returned to match fitness.

Italy are unchanged, with Spalletti keeping faith with the team which narrowly beat Albanian.

Italy team news in full

19:08 , Alex Young

Italy XI: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bastoni, Calafiori, Dimarco; Jorginho, Barella; Chiesa, Frattesi, Pellegrini; Scamacca

Subs: Vicario, Meret, Buongiorno, Gatti, Raspadori, Darmian, Bellanova, Cristante, Mancini, Retegui, Zaccagni, Fagioli, El Shaarawy, Cambiaso, Folorunsho

Italy XI

19:04 , Alex Young

...and the Azzurri!

Spain team news in full

18:45 , Alex Young

Spain XI: Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Ruiz, Pedri; Yamal, Morata, Williams

Subs: Raya, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Olmo, Ferran, Grimaldo, Remiro, Nacho, Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Navas, Fermin, Ayoze

Spain XI

18:38 , Alex Young

Here we go!

Spalletti: Tonight's game 'one of the most important' of career

18:38 , Alex Young

Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti has labelled tonight’s game as "one of the most important" of his career.

Italy recovered from going behind to Albania on Saturday to claim three points thanks to goals from Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolo Barella.

Spalletti said: "It is one of the most important matches of my career. I've already been through some important games, but this is certainly one of those which is right up there.

"We all have a story to tell and when the players get to my age they will know that they need to have stories to tell and this is one of those matches which could give them a tale to tell in the future."

Spain 'ready to get muddy' tonight

18:27 , Alex Young

Defending champions Italy may have won their Euro 2024 opener against Albania with an unexpectedly attacking style of football, but Spain are unfazed, says manager Luis de la Fuente.

He made it clear his side are not preparing for game of finesse, however, and are getting ready for something more akin to a pitched battle.

"We are prepared to get muddy, to dig deep in a quarry and for a day in the office. Ready for everything," De la Fuente told a press conference on Wednesday.

"We know what kind of football they play and how competitive they are, so we won't be surprised. I expect a strong, aggressive Italy who will try to control possession. It is the most important match in the group stage.”

Spain and Italy taking similar paths as understated contenders

18:17 , Alex Young

In the eyes of Spain boss Luis de la Fuente, such is the quality of the two sides that this game would be worthy of being the final in Berlin in three weeks’ time, writes Simon Collings.

That is hard to argue with given that Italy are the reigning champions at this European Championship, while Spain won the Nations League last year.

Both sides are among the contenders to go all the way this summer, but they have not been spoken about with the same gusto as the likes of England, France or even Germany, who made it two wins from two against Hungary on Wednesday.

All that will change if either Italy or Spain win on Thursday night, with a victory allowing them to lay down a marker for their prospects.

It will also book them a spot in the last-16 with a game to spare, although both teams are in a strong position anyway given they each won their opening games and Albania and Croatia are stuck on one point each after drawing on Wednesday afternoon.

Read more here!

Latest odds

18:07 , Alex Young

The bookies are predicting a tight game, with Spain to edge it.

• Spain: 5/4

• Draw: 11/5

• Italy: 12/5

(Odds via Betway.)

17:55 , Alex Young

The stadium is already filling up. Still over two hours until kick-off.

Spain vs Italy prediction

17:45 , Alex Young

Spain were hugely impressive against Croatia, showing a ruthless edge in attack that has been missing in recent tournaments.

The likes of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams offered a real threat out wide and they should fancy their chances of enjoying further success against Italy.

The Azzurri were made to work by Albania and struggled to create clear-cut chances, though they will not be faced with a similar wall of defenders here.

It is another real test for Spain, but one they can come through to seal progression into the last-16.

Spain to win, 2-1.

Italy team news

17:38 , Alex Young

As for Italy, Nicolo Fagioli did not feature in his country’s victory over Albania after suffering bruising to his fibula, but he has been in training since and could be involved against Spain.

There had been doubts over Nicolo Barella’s fitness heading into the tournament, but he started the opening match and came through unscathed while scoring the winner, so should line up in midfield again.

Gianluca Scamacca should again lead the line, despite a quiet showing last time out, with Lorenzo Pellegrini and Federico Chiesa set to continue either side of him.

Matteo Darmian is an option at full-back, but is likely to have to settle for a place on the bench again, with Federico Dimarco and Giovanni Di Lorenzo preferred.

Spain team news

17:29 , Alex Young

Spain have no lingering injury concerns over Alvaro Morata and Rodri ahead of tonight.

Spain captain Morata was forced off in the win over Croatia but insisted it was just “a knock”, while head coach Luis de la Fuente has played down concerns over Rodri’s fitness, after he too had to come off in the second half on Saturday.

The Spain boss said: “Nothing important. Morata got a bang, and Rodri was fatigue as he had worked a lot.

“It was intelligent to ask for the change, as we want all our players in the best condition possible for the final stages of this competition.”

A muscle issue kept Aymeric Laporte out of the Croatia match and while he is nearing a return to full fitness, it is likely Nacho keeps his place against Italy.

Where to watch Spain vs Italy for free

17:22 , Alex Young

TV channel: In the UK, tonight’s game will be broadcast live and free-to-air on ITV1. Coverage starts at 7:15pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off.

Live stream: The ITVX app and website will show a free live stream online.

Welcome

17:15 , Alex Young

Good evening and welcome to the Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Euro 2024 clash between Spain and Italy.

Two European heavyweights, fighting it out in the so-called ‘group of death’., in a de facto shootout for top spot.

Neither team overly impressed in opening-game wins over Croatia and Albania, respectively, and this is a significant step up for both.

Kick off in Gelsenkirchen is at 8pm BST.