Until this week, when people mentioned Spain and Italy in the same sentence, many would be referring to the financial crisis that has plagued Europe for the past several years. But now that’s changed as these two soccer power will meet up in the final of the Euro 2012 tournament on Sunday in Kiev at 2:30 PM.
Many were predicting a Germany/Spain final, but Italy stunned the Germans on Thursday behind two goals by Mario Balotelli. Germany was a big favorite but I pointed out Balotelli as one of the factors that could lead to a victory by the Italian side, and those same factors now apply against Spain. Balotelli and Andrea Pirlo have been spectacular for Italy, but the entire team seems to be coming together. They dominated most of the match against Germany and unleashed a powerful counter-attack strategy with aggressive sprints and long balls that stunned the Germans.
Spain and Italy have won the last two World Cups and Spain is the defending Euro champion. But this is a very different Italian team from the one that one the World Cup back in 2006, and it’s also different from the squad that had a a disappointing finish in 2010. So Spain was a favorite at the beginning of the tournament, but now many are starting to pile on the Italian bandwagon as Spain hasn’t been dominant and the Italians seem to be playing their best football.
Still, Italy will be the underdog again on Sunday, but this should be a great game.
