England out of Euro 2016, beaten by Iceland

By the end of Monday, those same fans were doing nothing but celebrate after Italy’s huge 2-0 win in which they absolutely dominated and humbled Spain – and earned a huge measure of revenge for their loss in the Euro 2012 final.

Italy, better organised and more aggressive before the break, had wasted several chances when defender Chiellini put them ahead after 33 minutes, following up to tap in after goalkeeper David De Gea failed to block Eder’s free kick. Sergio Ramos almost scored with a header from close range in the team’s first clear chance of the game, and Buffon had to make a hard save on a powerful shot by Andres Iniesta in the 76th minute.

And it was Buffon who rose to the occasion in the dying minutes, denying first Iniesta then Gerard Pique before Pelle rounded off a superb individual performance with the goal to send his country through to the last eight.

And the game was killed off moments later when Pelle was found at the back post and volleyed home to give his side the win. As Michael Cox points out in this excellent article, it’s no surprise (and for those of us who have watched Marcelino’s Villarreal, it’s easy to see how our changed style of play fits into this tactical evolution).

“Given the fact we can’t fall back on a selection of good players we have to be a collective”. “Spanish football has a great structure”.

Italy took control of the match early and never let go, with Conte’s 3-5-2 leaving Spain’s attempts at controlling possession in midfield utterly worthless and leaving their efforts to get forward toothless at best.

The last two matches of the round of 16 saw Spain take on Italy.

Iniesta finished one of his best seasons ever with a couple of majestic displays at the beginning of the tournament.

“We have to accept the disappointment.

A first-half effort from defender Giorgio Chiellini and a stoppage-time goal by striker Graziano Pelle sent the Azzurri into the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 and left Spain to mull over a second successive failure on the global stage.

“Despite trying to play the same way as we have done in recent years, we weren’t as effective”.

That has made former Sevilla, Athletic Club, Granada and Mallorca coach Joaquin Caparros the favourite to replace Del Bosque. Unnerved by Italy’s physicality, their surreptitious angles and concussive challenges, Spain were drawn into a scrap that did not suit them. “And it starts again”.

“They thought that this would be a walk in the park”, Sigurdsson said. Elsewhere, across the length of the pitch, this approach was in full view, with two Italian men always at a Spanish player in midfield, not allowing passes to flow, benefiting from the formation’s core objective – an extra man in midfield with wing backs countering the opposition full backs.

On top of that, Del Bosque’s relaxed approach might have worked out in previous tournaments, but it’s now apparent that has lost a great deal of the players’ trust. “I said I must speak to the (Spanish federation) president”, Del Bosque said.

“It’s been a golden era for Spanish football”, he said.