Spain faces Italy for a massive Mediterranean derby in the semifinals of the 2022/23 Nations League. The winners will go on to face Croatia in the final at De Kuip on Sunday, June 18, 2023.
SPN vs ITA Match Details
Date: Thursday, 15 June 2023 / Friday, 16 June 2023
Time: 21:00 (CET), 00:30 (IST)
Venue: De Grolsch Veste, Enschede
SPN vs ITA Match Preview
Spain will play a repeat of the 2021 clash against Italy at the same stage of the competition and will be hoping for a similar result to move into the final. That evening, La Roja beat the Azzurri 2-1 with two first-half goals from Ferran Torres and also snapped their unbeaten streak in a double whammy for the opposition. In the final, Spain were beaten by France and they are aiming to reach there again with a new manager at the helm. Taking over from Luis Enrique after the World Cup, the start of the Luis de la Fuente era has been rocky for the senior team having also managed their U21 side. A 3-0 win over Norway was far from more comfortable than the score-line suggested and then a first competitive loss to Scotland in 39 years, both in Euro 2024 qualifiers. The boss now has the chance to fend off the early criticism and land silverware for the side they so agonizingly missed last time. Spain also had to wait till the last day of the group stages needing a late winner from Alvaro Morata in the 1-0 win against rivals Portugal to pip them by a point and reach consecutive Nations League finals.
Italy are also steadfast to win the trophy but first seeking revenge for their elimination last time in this fixture. Head coach Roberto Mancini has made his wish clear of guiding the team to yet another trophy and this time with the young vibrant players revolutionizing the national team. The disappointment of not making the World Cup last year and recent less-than-impressive form could be replaced. The Azzurri also had to edge out Hungary by a point beating them in the direct battle for the top spot in their group with Germany and England also in it. This is also Italy’s second straight participation in the Nations League finals. After losing to Spain in the semifinals two years ago, Mancini won the bronze in the third-place battle with Belgium. A similar thing will surely not be satisfying as Italy look to pile misery on La Roja as they did yet another last-four encounter in their run-up to the Euro 2021 triumph. For that, the record of only one win in the last six meetings in normal time needs to be fixed.
Recent Form (all competitions)
SPN: LWDLD
ITA: WLLWW
Recent Form (Nations League)
SPN: WLWWD
ITA: WWLDW
SPN vs ITA Predicted Lineups
SPN: Unai Simon; Dani Carvajal, Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba; Rodri, Martin Zubimendi; Marco Asensio, Dani Olmo, Gavi; Alvaro Morata
ITA: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Francesco Acerbi, Leonardo Bonucci, Federico Dimarco; Nicolo Barella, Jorginho, Marco Verratti; Federico Chiesa, Mario Retegui, Lorenzo Pellegrini
SPN vs ITA Head to Head
SPA win: 13
Draw: 12
ITA win: 10
(All competitions)
SPN vs ITA Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Donnarumma (8)
DEF: Carvajal (8.5), Dimarco (8), Alba (8)
MID: Pellegrini (8), Rodri (8.5), Barella (8.5), Chiesa (8),
FW: Asensio (8), Morata (8.5), Retegui (7.5)
Vice-captain: Nicolo Barella
Captain: Rodri
