Italy’s Euro 2016 campaign got a whole lot better earlier today as they clinched a fantastic 1-0 win over Sweden to maintain their 100% record in the competition. They were massive favourites, even prior to kick-off, but the match turned out to be a lot more complicated.
Sweden dominated possession in the first half and controlled approximately 58% of the ball. But Zlatan was tightly marked by Italy’s back-three and that restricted them to only a handful of opportunities – none of which were converted with any conviction, either.
Conte’s men showed a lot more desire in the second half, and could have scored through a couple of chances, if not for Isaksson’s excellent form in between their sticks. But perhaps the most shocking miss of the match came towards the end, when Larsson found Zlatan within inches of Italy’s goal, but the PSG man could only fire it above the bar, though he was offside at the end of the day.
Italy’s Florenzi then fired against the bar, before Eder produced a moment of magic by embarking on a solo run, before firing it into the back of the net to help Italy seal a momentous win that effectively sends them into the Round of 16.
Giorgio Chiellini
The Juventus center-back was tipped to have a difficult time against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, though it turned out to be the complete opposite. He was instrumental in keeping Ibrahimovic at bay, particularly when Sweden upped their tempo in the second half. His positioning was excellent as usual, but the more impressive bit was his ability to win aerial duels. Sweden threw everything at him, and Chiellini absorbed everything, without showing an ounce of weakness.
Martin Olsson
The Norwich City full-back continues to look like a world-class player in this tournament. Just like the first game, Olsson was industrious for the entire game, putting in impressive runs on the flank, though he was equally diligent at the back. Candreva barely had an impact in this game and it was due in no small part to Olsson’s fantastic performance on the flanks. He’ll be incredibly frustrated about conceding the late goal though.
Eder
This was all about patience. Italy new it waa going to be difficult to break Sweden down and it was reflected in their body language for large parts of the game, when they lost possession on the final third. But Eder was relentless. He kept racing forward at every opportunity. He consistently made those runs across the channel. The result? He scored a sensational winner to help Italy maintain their 100% record in this tournament!
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