Italy and Spain face each other on Tuesday evening at 9 p.m. at Wembley for the first semi-final of this Euro.

The two prestigious selections had not reached the last four of a major international competition since the final of Euro 2012, largely won by Roja against Nazionale (4-0). 

These are two of the most beautiful achievements in world football that meet on Tuesday evening at Wembley for the first semi-final of the Euro (9 p.m.). Italy, quadruple world champion and winner of a European championship, faces Spain, three European titles and 2010 world champion, to a huge shock. The two teams, who had not reached the last four of a major international competition since their clash in the final of Euro 2012 (4-0 victory for La Roja), were not expected at such a party. 

In any case, Squadra Azzurra impressed with its polished game and its intensity, offering themselves the scalp of Belgium in the quarter-finals (2-1).

La Roja, for her part, has alternated brilliant shots (5-0 victories against Slovakia in pools and 5-3 against Croatia in 8th after extra time) and slower performances, as during the difficult success against Switzerland in the quarterfinals (1-1 ap, 3 tab to 1).

Europe 1 presents this exciting semi-final to you. 

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Statistics: fourth meeting in a row in the final phase of the Euro 

Italy-Spain is a classic of the Euro. Tuesday, it will even be the fourth consecutive clash in the final phase, for two Spanish victories and one Italian. In 2008, La Roja had taken the upper hand in the quarter-finals, on penalties (0-0 ap, 4 tab to 2), before winning the title. She had managed the pass of two in 2012 after an incredible show of force in the final against… Italy. The Spaniards, world champions in 2010, then play their best football and crush the Nazionale in great width (4-0), signing the masterpiece of the golden generation of Casillas, Ramos, Iniesta, Xavi or even Torres . 

But four years later, this formidable team is at the end of their cycle.

Released in the first round at the 2014 World Cup, the Spaniards are subject to the law of a superb team from Italy, then coached by Antonio Conte, in the round of 16 of Euro 2016 (2-0).

Place, this Tuesday, in episode 4. 

The duel: Roberto Mancini against Luis Enrique, the artisans of the renaissance 

Italy and Spain may be two of the greatest footballing nations in the world, but they both had years of disappointment. The Italians, first of all, failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, a huge trauma in the land of calcio. The Spaniards remained on two eliminations in the round of 16 in a row, at Euro 2016 (against Italy, precisely) and at the 2018 World Cup against Russia. Both have rebounded spectacularly thanks to their coaches, Roberto Mancini and Luis Enrique, who have in common to focus above all on the collective. 

The Squadra Azzurra is the most eloquent example, with an attacking, intense and polished game that has delighted football fans since the competition. Roberto Mancini, the former coach of Inter Milan and Manchester City, relies on a group of talented players (Donnarumma, Verratti, Insigne…) but without big stars. A point in common with the Roja of Luis Enrique, the former Barça coach who made a change of generation and did not summon the icon Sergio Ramos, insufficiently recovered from an injury. If Spain remains a team obsessed with possession, they are now able to put a lot of intensity, as against Croatia in the round of 16. But it can also purr in a sterile passing game, as against Switzerland for much of the meeting. So what Roja will we see on Tuesday night? 

The question: 60,000 spectators at Wembley, but will there be Italian and Spanish fans?

This semi-final will take place, like the other semi-final and the final, at Wembley Stadium in London.

The British government has allowed 60,000 spectators to attend, despite the surge in coronavirus cases in the country due to the Delta variant.

But Italian, Spanish and Danish supporters will have to respect a ten-day quarantine if they want to come to the British capital.

Suffice to say that there should not be a massive presence of foreign fans in the stands ... unless they take the risk of overriding the sanitary instructions. 

The Italian and Spanish supporters installed in Great Britain are not concerned by this quarantine and will therefore be able to invest without problems the spans of Wembley. Against Austria in the round of 16, more than 10,000 Italians from the diaspora were present in the "temple of football". We could therefore hear a huge clamor at the time of

Fratelli d'Italia

, the magnificent Italian anthem, before kick-off.