assured their passage through to the knock-out stages of with a dominant display over . Luis De La Fuente's men got off to a very fast start, with Italy unable to cope with the Spaniard's intensity. Both Pedri and Nico Williams came agonisingly close to opening the scoring with close-range headers.
The latter of which reall should've ended up in the back of the net. The 21-year-old did pull off the skill of the tournament though, producing a Cruyff turn on the half volley to get past Alessandro Bastoni. That was before Fabian Ruiz was denied from distance by a brilliant save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The second half started just as the first, with Pedri missing another guilt edge opportunity as he steered Marc Cucurella's cross wide from close range. Thankfully for the two-time European champions, Italy were on helping hand to help Spain take the lead, with Riccardo Calafiori bundling the ball into an empty net. It was almost two own goals shortly after, but Calafiori's header was cleared off the line by substitute Andrea Cambiaso.
Arsenal target Williams nearly capped off a brilliant night, but saw his curling effort smack against the crossbar. Ultimately, it mattered little as Spain were able to hang on to a comfortable three points. Didn't have to make a save of any note.
It was that kind of night for the goalkeeper. The Real Madrid cult hero wasn't as dynamic as his counterpart on the other side of the pitch. However, he did provide some good support for young Yamal.
It .
