Euro 2020: Why Spain must be wary of striker shortcomings ahead of Italy clash
After three weeks of fantastic football fiesta, it’s now down to the final four teams at Euro 2020. One out of Italy, Spain, England and Denmark will be crowned champions on July 11.
There are two mouthwatering semi-finals to come, with both clashes expected to be high-voltage, energetic encounters. The game that has attracted the most attention out of these two is between Italy and Spain. Both teams have been in great form in the tournament thus far but there seems to be a general feeling that Italy are marginal favorites.
Such thoughts are not far-fetched, considering how dominant Roberto Mancini’s side have been in the tournament. Spain have been impressive, but not as convincing as this Italy side.
Spain's woes upfront
One major concern for La Roja ahead of the semi-final would be the team’s striker shortcomings. Spain failed to score in their opening two group games at Euro 2020.
They then put five goals each past Slovakia and Croatia, before beating Switzerland on penalties after a 1-1 draw. For all the goals Spain have scored, though, the team’s main striker Alvaro Morata has netted just once so far in the tournament.
As it stands, Morata is undroppable from this team because he is the only out-and-out striker Luis Enrique has at his disposal. For all of his good qualities, the Juventus striker is simply not prolific enough. Enrique's only other option would have potentially been Barcelona's Ansu Fati, but he was ruled out of the tournament due to a long-term injury.
Against an Italian team that is compact in midfield and resolute in defense, Spain are bound to struggle, especially if the supporting cast do not come to the party. La Roja’s striker shortcomings are well-documented and could prove costly when they face the Azzurri on Tuesday.
Winning the midfield battle will be key
For some reason, Italy under Mancini haven't followed the traditional 'Italian way'. Rather, they have often adopted an approach associated more with recent Spanish sides. Italy often build their attacks through possession and movement, and have excelled at it in recent times.
That means the Azzurri will not cede possession to Spain easily, which makes for an interesting battle in midfield. Both teams are similar in style and love to dominate possession, but Spain must be industrious to stand a chance of edging this one. Spanish boss Enrique seemed aware of Italy's strengths ahead of this crunch clash.
“We are leaders in ball possession but they can also make use of it and enjoy the ball, that'll be the first battle we need to conquer," Enrique said ahead of the game, as quoted by Reuters.
"They can adapt to not having the ball, they've done that in the tournament in certain stages but they're more comfortable with the ball and stronger with it."
"Our objective is clear, we want the ball, we need it, if we have to do something different we will adapt but we prefer to have possession of the ball."
Twenty-seven years after Enrique’s nose was bloodied and broken during a defeat to Italy at the 1994 World Cup, the Spain boss has the chance to extract some personal revenge. However, Italy are not pushovers and a team that hasn’t tasted defeat in over 30 matches will definitely provide a stern challenge.
Spain will know they have to overcome their profligacy upfront to find a way past Mancini’s incredibly talented and resilient side.