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Italy and Spain Renew Rivalry in 1st Euro 2016 Knockout Round
Published: June 25, 2016
The group stage of the 2016 UEFA European Championship is over, and the knockout rounds begin on Saturday. For Italy, the round of 16 starts on Monday at 5 p.m. BST (noon ET), when they square off against fellow European titan and two-time defending champion Spain.
The Azzurri earned this marquee fixture after defying expectations and winning Group E with a game to spare, defeating pre-tournament favorites Belgium 2-0 and a punchless Sweden team 1-0 before losing the group finale 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland, a game that only had meaning for the Irish.
Spain was expected to be on the other side of the draw as favorites in Group D, but a blown lead and 2-1 loss to Croatia in their group finale on Tuesday saw the Vatreni go top and dropped Spain into Italy's lap.
If either team wants to win this tournament, it is going to have to navigate one of the most difficult routes in the history of the sport. The eight teams on this side of the bracket combine for a whopping 11 World Cups (four each from Germany and Italy and one each from Spain, England and France) and nine European Championships (three each from Germany and Spain, two from France and one from Italy).
If a team from that side wins the tournament, it would likely be following one of the most heroic runs in international football history. But the other three of those five nations at least get to wade into the knockout phase with games they are expected to win. Italy and Spain will have to put on their big-boy cleats from the outset.
It should be an excellent match. These are two teams that know each other extremely well. Monday's game will be the their ninth meeting since 2008—and the fifth competitive fixture.
Italy has only won one of those those games, a 2011 friendly in Bari. Spain have won three, including the final of Euro 2012. Of the remaining draws, two came in...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football
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