ITALY RULES ON JAMES NORTH
EURO 2016
Canadians love Italian food, culture and soccer. Here, Hamilton’s Johnny Stancati waves an Italian flag in celebration on James Street North after Italy defeated Spain 2-0 at the Euro Cup Monday. Italy faces Germany Saturday.
SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE — Spain’s era of dominance at the European Championship came to an end Monday when Italy beat the twotime defending champion 2-0 in the round of 16.
Italy deserved its victory and was impressive from the start at Stade de France, stifling Spain’s attacking intent and creating several scoring opportunities with slick interplay.
The goals — one in either half — were enough for Italy to avoid its third straight elimination at the European Championship to Spain and secure a quarter-final clash against another old foe, Germany.
Giorgio Chiellini, a member of Italy’s resilient defence, put his team ahead in the 33rd minute, when he poked the ball across the line after Spain goalkeeper David de Gea couldn’t hold on to a free kick by Eder.
In the second half, Spain showed more menace and came close to equalizing on a couple of occasions, not least when Sergio Ramos’ closerange header in the 76th minute was kept out by veteran Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Buffon also made another impressive save in the 90th minute when he managed to get down and save Gerard Pique’s close-range strike.
As Spain swept forward in search of the elusive equalizer, Italy counterattacked to put the match beyond doubt. Graziano Pelle sealed the victory — Italy’s first competitive triumph over Spain since the 1994 World Cup — with his second goal of the tournament after a cross by Matteo Darmian in second-half injury time.
It was Italy’s first win over La Roja at the European Championship since it was defeated comprehensively by the Spaniards 4-0 in the 2012 final. The Italians had also been eliminated by Spain in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals at Euro 2008.
The result spells the end of Spain’s dominance in European football following its victories in 2008 and 2012. Two years ago, defending its 2010 World Cup, Spain was dumped out of the World Cup in Brazil at the group stage.
“We have to accept the disappointment. They were more efficient in the decisive moments,” Spain’s Andres Iniesta said.