Though much was expected from the contest between the former champions Spain and Italy, the match turned out to be a damp squib, resulting in a rather lacklustre 1-0 victory for the La Roja, thanks to an own goal by Riccardo Calafiori of Italy in the 55th minute, which sealed the fate of the game. With this win over the defending champions, Spain has ensured their place in the round of 16 with 6 points from their two games. They had defeated Croatia 3-0 in their first match. 

The match was held at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday, June 20. 

Match summary 

After getting off to a fast start, Luis de la Fuente's team came dangerously close to open the scoring within a few minutes into play when Pedri headed towards goal, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a fantastic save. Neco Williams also nearly scored as Italy was in serious trouble.

Characteristically, Italy stayed on the defensive as the Reds looked to build on their lead, with Williams and Lamine Yamal both coming close. Two excellent opportunities were stopped late on by Ayoze Perez, but it didn't matter because the holders were ultimately defeated.

In the end, Spain had an incredible 20 shots in the game, nine of which found the net, compared to Italy's meager 1 in 4. Next week, Italy would meet Croatia in a crucial decider whereas Spain would play against Albania .