Italy vs. Spain: Score and Reaction for World Cup 2018 Qualifying
Hosts Italy held Spain to a 1-1 draw in their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Juventus Stadium in Turin on Thursday.
Vitolo capitalised for the visitors on a rare mistake by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon about 10 minutes after half-time to open the scoring, but Daniele De Rossi levelled from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute after Sergio Ramos tripped Eder.
Spain dominated the majority of the proceedings but failed to make their chances pay off.
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The visitors immediately set about controlling the ball as Italy sat back, and Spain's first chance came through Andres Iniesta. After playing a lovely one-two with David Silva, the playmaker unleashed a shot on goal, but Buffon easily dealt with it.
Gerard Pique—who has scored three times for Barcelona this season—missed two chances in quick succession, heading wide from six yards before directing a header straight at Buffon minutes later.
Meanwhile, Diego Costa was also more involved than he had been in recent times, per football commentator Adam Summerton:
Leonardo Bonucci found out as much the hard way:
La Roja continued to cause the Azzurri problems and won countless corners, but the two sides went in goalless at half-time.
ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan gave a rundown of the stats at the break:
Spain deservedly went ahead after the restart, though, when Buffon charged out to deal with a through ball from Sergio Busquets, only to miss the ball entirely, leaving Vitolo to fire into the open goal.
As Bleacher Report UK's Adam Digby noted, the Italian legend does not often make mistakes:
Italy came close to hitting back when Alessandro Florenzi flashed a dangerous cross in front of goal, but Ciro Immobile was unable to connect at the back post.
Vitolo should have added a second after Koke put him through, but the Sevilla winger could not hit the target as he bore down on goal.
His mistake proved costly when Italy earned a spot-kick. Ramos brought down Eder during a rare foray upfield for Italy, and De Rossi dispatched the penalty as he sent David De Gea the wrong way.
Buoyed by the goal, the Azzurri attacked with renewed vigour and had the ball in the net again soon after through Immobile, but he was flagged for offside as he bundled it home.
The result left the two teams all square on four points in Group G. Italy are now unbeaten in 29 World Cup qualifiers, while Spain extended their impressive run to 55 qualifiers.
Both will be desperate to top the group and ensure automatic qualification, so Italy's return trip to Spain in September 2017 will take on added significance.
Post-Match Reaction
Per the Azzurri's official Twitter feed, Italy manager Giampiero Ventura said: "We paid for our tension, we gave the ball away too easily. When we pushed things we created chances and we could have won it also. The truth is we didn't get shots on target. Spain are favourites for this group but this game showed that we can achieve our goals if we want to."
Meanwhile, goalscorer De Rossi had a lighthearted take on Buffon's error, per football journalist Dylan Fahy:
Spain boss Julen Lopetegui complimented the hosts, per Rai Sport (h/t Football Italia): "I am not surprised we didn’t win, as it’s Italy and they are always strong. Above all, they are always capable of a comeback and showing great determination."
He added: "In the second half they played a more direct style of football. We were stronger in the first half and were also affected by having three players booked, so had to hold back a little. We must now recover well and prepare for the next game. A draw here is not an advantage for Spain, there is a very long way to go."
