Spain and Italy’s rivalry has grown from strength to strength over recent years and has been a recurring theme in European Championships this century.
The two sides have been among the strongest at Euro 2020 too and will do battle in the semi-final on Tuesday at Wembley Stadium for a place against either England or Denmark in Sunday’s final.
Spain needed penalties to get past Switzerland in the quarter-finals last week, while Italy beat Belgium 2-1 in Munich to qualify for the last four. But how do La Roja and the Azzurri stack up against each other in their meetings in this competition?
Here, Sportsmail takes a look at the Spain-Italy rivalry as they get set for a fourth consecutive Euros knockout clash…
Italy face Spain for a place in Sunday’s Euro 2020 final in the latest encounter of their rivalry
Luis Enrique’s men needed penalties to beat Switzerland while the Azzuri overcame Belgium
Euro 2016 – Italy 2-0 Spain – round of 16
Spain had reigned as European champions for eight years ahead of their meeting against Italy in Paris five years ago.
But after recent success against the Azzurri and in the tournament as a whole, La Roja’s domination on the continent came to an end against a tactically superior Italy side under Antonio Conte.
Giorgio Chiellini opened the scoring, scrappily bundling home from close range after David de Gea – who otherwise had an outstanding game – had failed to push Eder free-kick’s away from danger.
Graziano Pelle (right) scored in injury time to secure a win for Antonio Conte as the latter delivered a tactical masterclass
Spain only managed to exert some pressure in the latter stages of the match but came up against the might of Gianluigi Buffon.
The Juventus legend first saved from Andres Iniesta and then twice from Gerard Pique before the hammerblow for Spain arrived.
Former Southampton striker Graziano Pelle rang the death knell, volleying home from eight yards out in injury time after Matteo Darmian’s cross fell nicely for him despite Spain’s best efforts to clear.
The result not only saw Antonio Conte’s men correct what was starting to become an unwanted record against Spain, but it also proved to be Vicente del Bosque’s final game in charge of La Roja, leaving three days later after his deal expired.
Conte’s final game in charge of Italy came a game later when they suffered a quarter-final defeat by Germany on penalties, with the Italian going on to join Chelsea and win the Premier League in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
It was to be Vicente del Bosque’s final game in charge of La Roja, leaving his role three days later
Euro 2012 – Spain 4-0 Italy – final
As brilliant as Italy would be with their tactics in wing-backs Mattia de Sciglio and Alessandro Florenzi four years later, Spain were equally as convincing with their passing game in the Euro 2012 final in Kyiv.
The duo had met earlier in the tournament during the group stages, when Cesc Fabregas – playing the false nine role – had earned Spain a 1-1 draw after Antonio Di Natale’s opener in Gdansk. But there was to be no close contest in the scoreline just a few weeks later.
The Italians were in the game for large portions but were ultimately put to the sword by an incredible exhibition of pass-and-move football which was synonymous with Spain’s crop of players at the time.
One such spellbinding passing exchange saw ex-Manchester City midfielder David Silva head his country into the lead from an inch-perfect Fabregas delivery.
Jordi Alba scored a memorable goal in the Euro 2012 final as Spain beat the Italians in Kyiv
The Spaniards therefore added a second straight Euros crown to their World Cup 2010 title
Jordi Alba – who captained Spain in the group stages at Euro 2020 before the return of Sergio Busquets from Covid – then added a second after a surging run and a similarly remarkable pass from Xavi.
Cesare Prandelli had to act and brought on Antonio Di Natale for his namesake Cassono, and the former Udinese man almost brought Italy back into the game but for a fine save from Iker Casillas.
However, the die was cast when a hamstring injury to fellow substitute Thiago Motta saw Prandelli’s men reduced to 10 and Spain, in ruthless mood, took advantage through Fernando Torres, coolly slotting home another slick Xavi pass for a third.
The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker then turned unselfish provider, squaring for an open Juan Mata to steer home a fourth. A second straight Euros title was added to the 2010 World Cup crown, and many were struggling to think of too many international teams better.
The sides had drawn earlier in the tournament, with Cesc Fabregas cancelling out Antonio Di Natale’s goal
Euro 2008 – Spain 0-0 Italy (aet, Spain won 4-2 on pens) – quarter-final
On paper the most tightly-contested Euros fixture between the two teams this century, but in truth the game was a rather disappointing affair given the skill of the two teams.
Former Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna came closest in normal time when Buffon fumbled what appeared a relatively easy shot to deal with on to a post.
There were also chances for David Silva and namesake Villa, while Mauro Camoranesi came closest for Italy – despite headers in extra time from Di Natale and Luca Toni – after a goalmouth scramble saw Casillas called into action.
So to penalties it was to see who would face Russia in the semi-finals, and after Villa and Santi Cazorla scored for Spain and Fabio Grosso for Italy, Casillas saved brilliantly from Daniele De Rossi.
Iker Casillas saved penalties from Daniele De Rossi (above) and Di Natale at Euro 2008
Senna and Camoranesi made no mistakes with their spot kicks but Italy were back in the game when Buffon saved from substitute Daniel Guiza, who had replaced the quiet Fernando Torres.
But Casillas would repeat his heroics again to save Di Natalie’s penalty, allowing Cesc Fabregas – then of Arsenal – to beat Buffon and spark bedlam among the Spain fans.
The midfielder’s penalty bucked a trend for Spain, who had gone out of three major championships on 22 June – the day of the game – in the quarter-finals on penalties, namely the 1986 and 2002 World Cups as well as Euro ’96.
Spain of course would go on to beat Russia and Germany to win the competition, but the game of margins was no finer than on this night against Italy in Austria.
Fabregas then scored the winning penalty to see Spain beat Italy in the quarter-final
Casillas admitted last year that this was the moment he and his teammates felt they’d go on to win a first Euros crown in 44 years.
‘It may be another year, and another, even 12 more, but that same memory will be indelible to all of us. At least for me,’ he said. ‘Since we got Italy, and we knew that we were going to face each other in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008, we had no fear.
‘We respected them very much. They were the reigning world champions. A continuous stress, a long 90 minutes, even longer extra-time and then, a few penalties. Finally, we were happy!
‘The emotion of that group, that joy and that celebration after qualifying. At that time, we knew we were going to be champions.’
And what about before that?
There have been some fascinating encounters between the sides since, most notably the Isco-inspired 3-0 win for Spain in World Cup qualifying nearly four years ago.
That came after a 1-1 stalemate between the two sides at the Allianz Stadium, home of Juventus, and proved critical as Italy would finish second in Group G and fail to qualify for the World Cup in Russia after losing to Sweden.
Spain also have the edge in the head-to-head record against Italy overall, having won 12, drawn as many and lost just nine of their matches against the Azzurri in 33 matches.
That return includes seven victories, four draws and two defeats in the 21st century. But it is a different story when it comes to major tournaments alone.
Their most competitive encounter also ended in a Spanish win, inspired by two goals from Isco
Italy have emerged victorious on four occasions, drawn as many games and lost just one in World Cup and European Championship games against their Spanish counterparts.
The two sides first met in the 1934 World Cup in a 1-1 draw in Florence, before the hosts won the replay 1-0 the next day.
They would not clash in a tournament for another 46 years, with the wait ended by a 0-0 draw at San Siro in Euro 1980.
In that same tournament eight years later, Gianluca Vialli netted the only goal as the Italians triumphed 1-0 in Frankfurt, but the most dramatic tournament encounter between the sides was yet to come.
Roberto Baggio scored a winner for Italy two minutes from time in their 1994 World Cup quarter-final
In the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, Italy beat Spain 2-1 thanks to Dino Baggio’s long-range strike and Roberto Baggio’s winner two minutes from time after a brilliant end-to-end move following Jose Caminero’s equaliser.
But the game has become most famous for the elbow from Mauro Tassotti that caught Luis Enrique in the face – an incident which earned him an eight-match ban retrospectively.
‘My nose is better now and many years have gone by. I have spoken to Tassotti a few times and he is a very honest person,’ Enrique said at his pre-match press conference this week.
But while many years have passed since that incident, the rivalry remains as fierce as ever, as Spain search for their first piece of silverware for nine years while Italy will aim for their first trophy since the 2006 World Cup.