Spain and Italy have shared an intense rivalry in international football since their first meeting in 1920. It is also regarded as one of the top fixtures in world football with Germany-England, France-Germany or Spain-Portugal rivalry. Both teams have garnered a lot of success in history with Spain winning the 2010 World Cup and three Euros while Italy bagging three World Cups and two Euros including winning the last edition. The two have often clashed in these tournaments, six times in the European Championship. The most notable fixture has been in the Euro 2012 final. The first meeting between the sides happened in the 1920 Olympics where Spain won 2-0.
La Roja has won 13 encounters compared to 11 of the Azzuris but the latter have dominated the meetings in the European Championship. Their face-off in the Euro 2024 group stage will be the 40th game between these two and the seventh in the competition. Italy edges Spain on goals scored although they are a goal behind matching their opposition’s tally in the Euros. However, both have managed to keep an equal number of clean sheets so far with five games even ending scoreless. With the growth in competition, this meeting became more frequent since 2011 with Spain and Italy facing each other almost every year.
Spain vs Italy head-to-head meetings (overall)
Played - 40
Spain won - 13
Drawn - 16
Italy won - 11
Spain vs Italy head-to-head meetings (Euros)
Played - 6
Spain won - 1
Drawn - 2
Italy won - 3
Spain vs Italy goals scored (overall)
Spain scored - 33
Italy scored - 46
Spain vs Italy goals scored (Euros)
Spain scored - 6
Italy scored - 5
Spain vs Italy clean sheets (overall)
Spain - 12
Italy - 12
Spain vs Italy clean sheets (Euros)
Spain - 2
Italy - 2
Biggest Spain win: 4-0 - Euro 2012 Final (1 July 2012)
Spain faced Italy twice in Euro 2012, once in the group stages and the other in the mega final. While the first meeting of the tournament ended in a 1-1 draw, the final was a record-breaking one with Spain outclassing Italy 4-0 in Kyiv. La Roja registered the greatest margin of victory in the Euro with four different goalscorers David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata not giving the Azzuri even a sniff of recovery in the match. Spain also became the first team to win back-to-back Euros and three consecutive major trophies with their triumph in the 2010 World Cup. Then under Vicente del Bosque, the side finished the tournament unbeaten.
Biggest Italy win: 7-1 - 1928 Olympics (4 June 1928)
Italy’s biggest win in this fixture came in the 1928 Olympics, the third consecutive meeting in the competition. The 7-1 triumph came in the quarterfinals after the future goal medalists overcame France’s challenge in the round of 16 while Spain Mexico by the same scoreline in the straight knockout format. Mario Magnozzi, Angelo Schiavio, Adolfo Baloncieri, Fulivio Bernardini, Enrico Rivolta and a late brace from Virgilio Levratto contributed to the huge win. However, Italy’s journey was ended in the next round by eventual winners Uruguay.
Spain vs Italy Last Five Meetings
Spain 2-1 Italy - 2023 Nations League semi-final, Enschede (15 June 2023)
Italy 1-2 Spain - 2021 Nations League semi-final, Milan (6 October 2021)
Italy 1-1 Spain (4-2 on pen) - Euro 2020, London (6 July 2021)
Spain 3-0 Italy - 2018 World Cup qualification, Madrid (2 September 2017)
Italy 1-1 Spain - 2018 World Cup qualification, Turin (6 October 2016)
