Except for a tense final few minutes, Italy basically cruised past tournament favorite Germany to reach the final. Huh. Well, we're in for a rematch of one of the tournament's earliest games, Italy vs. Spain. The group stage version of this matchup ended 1-1, and in fact that 1 goal by Italy is the only one scored in the tournament so far against Spain, so maybe this is an ideal matchup.
Italy subdued Germany with two first-half goals from their striker Mario Balotelli. Interesting fact: three of the players tied for the most goals of the tournament (3) are named Mario.
These teams have each played 5 games to get here, and have allowed a total of 4 goals, including 0 combined in the playoffs. We may be in for a repeat of the 2006 World Cup final, which also featured Italy and which ended in a penalty shootout (which Italy won). If that scenario unfolded, I doubt and Italian fans would complain.
Spain vs. Italy kicks off at 2:45pm EST.
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