Spain 2-1 Italy: Spain qualified for the final of the Nations League on Thursday evening. Substitute Joselu prevented an extension against Italy in the final phase, which will compete with the Netherlands for third place on Sunday afternoon.
Spain thanks to late goal to the Nations League final, the Orange meets Italy
Following the Orange and Croatia, which were the strongest on Wednesday after extra time, Spain and Italy also initially seemed to make a spectacle of it. Although the atmosphere in De Grolsch Veste could not match the great atmosphere of Wednesday evening in De Kuip, the two semi-finalists shot off the starting blocks in Enschede.
It was one of the veterans in the field who unintentionally contributed to this. The 36-year-old Leonardo Bonucci made a painful mistake after just three minutes. When he lost the ball on the edge of his own penalty area. The veteran tried to recover, but Yeremy Pino punished the captain’s blunder.
Leo Bonucci made his 121st international match for Italy, Robin Le Normand made his debut. The defender of Real Sociedad, who could also have opted for France, caused a penalty by making hands after a bet by the recovered Nicolo Zaniolo. Ciro Immobile stood behind the ball and hit it flawlessly.
It seemed like the signal for Italy to push through immediately. But a goal by Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi was rejected for offside. Then Spain, with veterans Jesús Navas (37) and Jordi Alba (34) in the fullback positions, took control again, without creating any really great opportunities.
Second half
In the second half it was a small miracle that more hits were not forthcoming. Immediately after the restart, Gianluigi Donnarumma had a great save. As Mikel Merino came in front of him and Álvaro Morata shot the rebound wide. On the other hand, Unai Simón showed his reflexes in a great chance for Frattesi.
An extension seemed to be in the works, but Joselu put a stop to that. The 33-year-old Espanyol striker, who has been linked with Real Madrid, tapped in from close range. Shortly after his entrance after a shot was deflected to secure Spain a place in the final. Italy will meet the Dutch in the consolation final.
