Barca Starlet Breaks Record As Spain Advance To Nations League Final
07 October, 2021
Spain progressed to the final of the UEFA Nations League after defeating European champions Italy 2-1 in their semi-final tie on Wednesday night.
UEFA Nations League
Result: Italy 1-2 Spain
Date: 06 October 2021
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
La Roja handed a start to 17-year-old Gavi, who became the country's youngest-ever starter while Pau Torres and Pablo Sarabia also got starts.
The two nations were meeting for the first time since their European Championship semi-final, where the Azzuri came out on top via the penalty shoot-out.
Luis Enrique's charges got off to the better start as Ferran Torres broke the deadlock on 17 minutes after getting on the end of Mikel Oyarzabal's cross to fire into the bottom corner.
The Italians should have been level 10 minutes before the break when Emerson did well to pick out Lorenzo Insinge, who steered his effort wide of the mark.
The first half ended with quite a bang as Italy were reduced to 10 men when Leonardo Bonucci picked up his second yellow before Torres bagged his second of the night on the stroke of halftime.
Roberto Mancini responded with a double 10 minutes after the break as Manuel Locatelli and Moise Kean replaced Marco Verratti and Insinge.
Spain nearly added a third goal on 63 minutes when Yeremi Pino's pass found Oyarzaval at the far post, but the midfielder guided his effort wide of the upright.
The Italians did manage to pull a goal back with seven minutes left on the click, with Lorenzo Pellergini firing past Unai Simon to set up a nervy finish.
However, Spain did well to see out the remaining stages of the encounter to secure a spot in Sunday's final, where they await the winner of Thursday's clash between France and Belgium.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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