Spain vs. Italy headed to extra time
The best chances of the entire match came back-to-back in the 36th minute. Emanuele Giaccherini set up Christian Maggio with a cross to the back post, but Iker Casillas made a big save on his header. One minute later, Fernando Torres made a brilliant run and turn in the box to free himself, but screamed his shot wide of the far post.
While the first half was eventful, with both teams creating some half-chances, particularly on fast counters, the game slowed down considerably in the second half. The hot and humid weather in Fortaleza probably didn’t help the teams to continue playing at a high pace. Both teams made substitutes in an attempt to liven up the match, but neither looked too much like scoring in the second half. Spain had the better chances of the two teams, but regularly squandered them with some very poor finishing.
The teams will now play two 15-minute extra time periods, and then go to penalties if they’re still tied after 120 minutes of play.
