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After an absolutely dominant win against the reigning champions Italy, Spain supporters, especially King Felipe, sighed with an increasing conviction that their team could advance all the way and emerge as Euro 2024 winners. La Roja overcame the Azzurri 1-0 in their second group game on Thursday, following their 3-0 victory over Croatia. Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori scored the game's lone goal when he put the ball in his own net.
👑🇪🇸 When the King of Spain met Lamine Yamal:
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) June 21, 2024
- How old are you ?
- 16 years old
- 16 years old ? 🤦♂️
pic.twitter.com/IWcZxlO1Wo
After the final whistle, King Felipe of Spain, who was present at the game in Gelsenkirchen's Arena AufSchalke, praised the players that they had given an amazing performance. The King of Spain was impressed by the performance of Lamine Yamal and was shocked to know his age.
Spain defeated Italy 1-0 via an own goal by Riccardo Calafiori, sending them into the UEFA Euro 2024 final sixteen as Group B victors. After thrashing Croatia 3-0 in their opening match, Spain looked impressive once more. In Gelsenkirchen, they should have won by a larger margin if not for a combination of bad finishing and outstanding stops from Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma.
They took the lead right away, when Donnarumma was brought in after only two minutes and brilliantly deflected Pedri's header from close range. After frightening Italy's defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo and going close to scoring with an attempted header from inside the penalty area, Nico Williams was denied twice more by Donnarumma, once from Alvaro Morata and once from a long-range shot by Fabian Ruiz.
How well did Spain play during the second half vs italy?
After the break, Spain continued where they left off, with Pedri missing a clear opportunity minutes later. However, Italy had to fight hard for their goal when defender Calafiori diverted Williams' low cross into his own net.
Calafiori came close to scoring again when Andrea Cambiaso blocked his teammate's errant header at a corner from the goal line. Meanwhile, teenagers Lamine Yamal and Williams additionally kept showing off their skills, with Yamal missing the top left corner with a shot and Williams striking the crossbar with a lovely curler.