22nd June 2008 – Qtr Final 4: Spain vs Italy
Spain – Joined the ranks of Netherlands and Croatia to win a game with its reserves showing they too had depth and quality.
Daniel Güiza scores the winning goal, 2-1 to Spain.
Italy – Gets a reprieve with a 2-0 win over France, aided by an early red card to Abidal and having had Franck Ribery being stretchered out which totally tilted the game towards Italy.
Eric Abidal fouls Toni for Italy`s first-half penalty and was red carded.
Verdict – Italy had been inconsistent but seems to have recovered in the last game, that’s Italy. Always illusive. Buffon had done well in front of the goal post too. Spain’s trickery may well be able to knock Italy out of the competition. 3 of the 4 potential Champions of the tournament, Portugal, Netherlands and Croatia had been knocked out in the quater finals, could Spain break the jinx?
Score: Spain 2-1 Italy
Market odds: Spain (-1/4, -0.925), Italy (+0.85)
