Euro 2024: Nico Williams steers rampant Spain into knockout round, sinks Italy
Take your pick. Choose from Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Nico Williams, Fabian Ruiz, even the wasteful Pedri, who spurned two chances on Thursday — they were all excellent as Spain outplayed Italy for a vital 1-0 victory in Group B at Euro 2024.
But despite the quality of the talent, and the impressiveness of their performances, none of them claimed a goal as Spain surged clear at the top of the group and booked its place in the knockout bracket.
Instead, it was a familiar "scorer" that made the difference between the sides, as "own goal" appeared on the stat sheet for the fifth time in the tournament, even with Euro 2024 being only a week old.
This time the unfortunate player was Riccardo Calafiori, who was powerless to avoid deflecting the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 55th minute to hand Spain all three points.
Williams whipped in a cross from the left, Alvaro Morata got a slight touch, just enough to wrong-foot Calafiori, the ball bouncing off him and over the line.
Spain deserved its lead. It had a multitude of chances, with Williams heading wide in the first half and Pedri missing a golden opportunity from close range and then steering a fierce shot straight at Donnarumma.
Williams, lively throughout, smashed an effort against the crossbar after 70 minutes, with Donnarumma beaten.
With only a clash against Albania to come, Spain is now an overwhelming favorite to secure top spot in the group and set up a clash with a third-place finisher in the round of 16.
Defending champ Italy now finds itself with a problem. Luciano Spalletti's side was unable to get much going and of the three forwards and three midfielders that started the game, only Nicolo Barella avoided being replaced before the end of it.
A second-half free-kick where Lorenzo Pellegrini curled a weak effort high and wide was indicative of the overall performance, which would have been much worse if not for the fine efforts of Donnarumma.
[Euro 2024 highlights: Spain beats Italy 1-0 to win Group B, advance to knockouts]
Italy now needs to avoid defeat to Croatia next week. In all likelihood, a point should be enough to progress, but more worrying is that the squad has been slow to show the kind of form that won it the title three years ago.
There are no such issues for Spain, the 2008 and 2012 champ. Head coach Luis De La Fuente is enjoying things and a fresh-faced squad is also having fun, being given the license to use its speed and skill to attacking effect.
The disappointment of the 2022 World Cup defeat to Morocco feels like a long time ago now. Spain is hunting, and no team at the tournament looks better so far.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
