How Spain cooked Italy with brilliant wing play and clever penalty-box movement

Cooking the perfect meal requires fresh ingredients and following the right recipe to the letter. Circumstances might affect the final taste but, if all goes well, then it should be as delicious as Spain’s performance in their 1-0 victory against Italy.

As with all of Spain’s meals under chef de cuisine Luis de la Fuente, the experience focused on attacking the wide areas, with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal serving down the wings.

But De la Fuente’s kitchen adjusts the menu on the night depending on the guests.

For one sitting, it’s combinations down the flanks between the winger, the full-back and the No 8. On another, it’s Spain putting their wingers in one-versus-one situations, where the dribbling of Williams and Yamal thrives. The meal delivered to Luciano Spalletti’s Italy was a taste of chalk-on-the-boots wingers having Italy’s full-backs, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Federico Dimarco, on toast.

For high-quality ingredients to taste good, they need the correct recipe. Putting Williams and Yamal in isolated situations against Italy’s full-backs needed the right movement inside the penalty area to complement it, so that when Spain’s wingers get the better of Di Lorenzo or Dimarco, there are multiple crossing options.

De la Fuente’s side were more effective down the left wing, where Williams grilled Di Lorenzo throughout the night. Inside the penalty area, Pedri joined Alvaro Morata, with Jorginho dropping to support Italy’s back four when Spain were attacking the flanks.

Once Williams dribbled past Di Lorenzo, the movement of Morata, Pedri and Yamal manipulated the remainder of Italy’s defensive line.

From a central position, Morata moved towards the near post to attack that area from Alessandro Bastoni’s blind side. Pedri positioned himself in the cutback zone and Yamal started wide but moved inside to be a threat towards the back post.

The roles of Morata, Pedri and Yamal forced Jorginho, Dimarco and Riccardo Calafiori to answer a multiple-choice test.

In this example below, Williams cuts inside to get the better of Italy’s right-back, which forces Jorginho to react, with Morata, Pedri and Yamal presenting three passing options to Spain’s left winger: Morata towards the near post, Pedri in the cutback zone, and Yamal towards the back post.

The space Pedri has near the penalty spot forces Calafiori to move forward to prevent the cutback — but in return, it forces Dimarco to drop deeper to protect the back post.

This means that Yamal can move inside, in front of the six-yard box. Unfortunately for Spain, Jorginho reacts quickly and manages to intercept Williams’ pass to Pedri.

In another example, the ball is circulated to Williams in a one-versus-one situation against Di Lorenzo, with Morata closer to Calafiori, Pedri behind him, and Yamal on the other side.

As Williams runs at Di Lorenzo and dribbles towards the byline, Morata’s dash towards the near post drags Calafiori with him, increasing the central space.

Yamal moves inside to be an option towards the back post but it’s Pedri who benefits from Morata’s movement. Tracked by Jorginho, the Barcelona midfielder frees himself by feinting towards the near post and then attacking the central zone…

… where Williams puts the cross. Yamal’s positioning is also essential to this attack because his presence towards the back post prevents Dimarco from covering for Calafiori by totally committing to defending the cross.

All of the above allows Pedri a free header, which is tipped over the bar by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In the second half, Spalletti moved Federico Chiesa to the left wing and introduced Andrea Cambiaso on the right to double up with Di Lorenzo against Williams, but this meant that Spain’s left-back, Marc Cucurella, could advance as well.

Meanwhile, Morata continued to position himself near Calafiori when the ball was out wide, with Pedri behind him and Yamal on the other wing.

Here, the double-team against Williams allows Cucurella to make an underlapping run which is tracked by Bryan Cristante, who replaced Jorginho at half-time. Pedri, Morata and Yamal were in their expected positions inside the penalty area.

Once Williams plays the ball to Cucurella behind Italy’s defence, Morata sprints towards the near post to attack Bastoni from his blind side and force Calafiori into a decision to either drop or move up towards Pedri, who is in position for the cutback.

Morata’s run across Calafiori and from Bastoni’s blind side is dangerous enough that Calafiori chooses to drop, leaving Pedri free, with Dimarco defending the back post against Yamal. Accordingly, Cucurella plays the cutback into Pedri…

… who misses the target.

Eventually, Spain’s attacks down the left wing led to the winner.

Here, it’s the same situation, with Pedri, Morata and Yamal in the correct positions, but the Barcelona midfielder is marked by Nicolo Barella. Cucurella’s presence puts Williams in a one-versus-one against Di Lorenzo…

… which Spain’s left winger wins yet again. As Williams moves towards the byline, Morata attacks the near post, Pedri stays in the cutback zone and Yamal adjusts his position at the back post in case the cross reaches him.

The positioning of Morata allows him to flick the ball across goal and a fingertip touch from Donnarumma brings the ball closer to Calafiori, who was already moving backwards and mistakenly puts it into his own net.

The positioning and movement of Pedri, Morata and Yamal inside the penalty area presented Italy with a dilemma and provided Williams with multiple crossing options. Spain’s strategy, in terms of how to attack the crosses, complemented their individual quality and played to its strengths.

The scoreline may not have done justice to their performance, but Spain certainly had the right ingredients and recipe to cook up a storm against Italy.

GO DEEPER

Yamal and Williams represent a new era for Spain – and made Italy look old-fashioned