Spain Beats Italy 1-0 to Win Group B, Advance to Knockouts

Early Goals Set the Tone

Spain and Italy clashed in the UEFA Nations League Semifinals, both teams came in hot with early goals in the first minutes of the half. Spain defeated Italy 1-0 and secured their place in the Round of 16.

Spain, who had already qualified for the knockout stage, took the lead in the 25th minute when a Riccardo Calafiori own goal gave them the advantage. Italy pushed for an equalizer but couldn't find a way past Spain's resolute defense. The victory means Spain finish top of Group B, while Italy finish second and will now face the winner of Group A in the quarterfinals.

Spain coach Luis Enrique was pleased with his team's performance, saying: "We played a great game today. We controlled the match and created a lot of chances. We deserved to win."

Italy coach Roberto Mancini was disappointed with the result but praised his team's effort. "We played well in the first half, but we couldn't score. In the second half, Spain was better than us. We need to improve if we want to win the tournament," he said.

Spain will now face the winner of Group A in the quarterfinals, while Italy will face the winner of Group C. The quarterfinals will be played on June 26 and 27.

The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was established in 2018 to replace international friendly matches. The inaugural tournament was won by Portugal, who defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.