Spain and Italy face off to extend record Euro rivalry

When Italy and Spain meet in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday, they will write a new chapter in what has developed into the most intense head-to-head rivalry in European Championship history.

No two countries have met more often at Euro tournaments than the Azzurri and La Furia Roja - the Red Fury - who will line up against one another for the eighth time since 1960.

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It will also be the fifth edition in a row that the two heavyweights have met head-to-head at a European Championship.

Over much of the country's sporting history, Spain's fans looked enviously across the Mediterranean Sea as Italy racked up four World Cup titles and the Azzurri battled for European supremacy with the mighty Germans.

But of the three Euro crowns won by the two countries over the last four tournaments, two have gone to Spain, underscoring their rise as a soccer superpower that also saw them crowned world champions in 2010.

In the most recent European Championship showdown, Italy defeated Spain in a nail-biting Euro 2020 semifinal that went to penalties at Wembley.

In a last-16 encounter in 2016, Italy were again victorious when defender Giorgio Chiellini scored from close range and Graziano Pelle volleyed home in the dying moments for a 2-0 win.

But in their most important meeting in all competitions, Spain triumphed in the final of Euro 2012 when Vicente del Bosque's all-conquering team thrashed Italy 4-0 in Kyiv which remains the biggest win in a European Championship final

The stakes will not be as high in Thursday's Group B game at the Arena AufSchalke. Spain and Italy both won their opening matches against Croatia and Albania, respectively, and look well-placed to advance into the knockout rounds.

But if they finish first and second in the group, they could be on course for another meeting, this time in the final in Berlin on July 14.

Highlights 

*Italy have lost just one match in their last 10 meetings against Spain in Euros and the World Cup (W4 D5). The sole defeat came in the 2012 Euro final.

*For the first time in 136 matches since the 2008 final against Germany, Spain had less possession than their opposition when they won 3-0 against Croatia in their opening fixture.

*This will be the 11th encounter in major events between Spain and Italy - Euros (8) and World Cup (3) – a record between two European sides.

*Alvaro Morata, with 10 goals, became Spain's second-highest goalscorer at major international tournaments (Euros/World Cup combined), behind only David Villa (13). The 31-year-old also netted his seventh goal at the Euros and only Cristiano Ronaldo (14) and Michel Platini (9) have netted more in the competition.

*Morata also scored against Italy in the semi-final of the previous edition.