In a power pack display of brilliant soccer, Spain beat their close rival Italy by 7-6 in the penalty shootout in the Confederation cup semifinal. The game was a nail biting affair for both the teams, though Italian team was enjoying more fan support than Spanish team for obvious reasons. This is the fourth time Spain could make it to the final of a big international event in last five years which shows how dominating they are in global panorama. Match entered into the penalty shootout when no team could find the post in allotted plus extra time, and even in penalty shootout, first six attempts were also all perfect; it was Jesus Navas who made it a cheering day for Spanish team while Bonucci named himself as the perpetrator for Blues by missing penalty shootout. The whole stadium was jam packed either by spectators or by security personnel coz antigovernment protests have been on peak during the finals, in fact, Sunday final is also expected to face one of the widest nationwide protests over Government policies. The climate was also harsh for players as there was too much humidity, yet none of the players indicated any sign of fatigue thanks to the importance of this match and what it could mean in the upcoming world cup.
The final line up is now set with host Brazil and Spain and looking at their past records, Spain is definitely the favorite although Brazilian team is also capable of reversing the gear anytime with its newly crowned lineup of strikers which is being mentored by their world cup winning coach. Though none of Spanish or Italian players could score a goal, but both teams got some good chances perhaps they also tried their best to improve their scorecard like a header from Christian Maggio which was excellently blocked by goalie Iker Casillas. Both halves were dominated by alternate teams, i.e., first one was more in control of Azzurri while second one was like a Spanish beauty, but in extra time, both teams became more aggressive and threatening to each other and thanks to an army of renowned defenders no one could actually find the post.
Italian coach expressed his satisfaction over his team performance; he said after the match that “We played a great match. We created and we conceded but we were always in the match. They’re still ahead of us but we’re improving. In these conditions, between absences and fatigue, it’s nearly impossible to go all the way, but the guys really moved me.”