Second half substitute Antonio Di Natales well taken goal on the hour mark gave the Italians a deserved lead over defending champions Spain in Gdansk yesterday evening, before Cesc Fabregas restored parity with a neat finish from David Silvas defence splitting pa s just four minutes later.Spain then had chances to snatch victory against much of the run of play, but Fernando Torres wasted several late opportunities.Vicente Del
Travis Zajac Women Jersey Bosque elected to start without a recognised striker, with Cesc Fabregas the most advanced central figure in what was, e sentially, a 4-6-0 formation. David Silva was lively however, and spurned two good chances in the opening few minutes.There had been much speculation in the run up to kick-off over which formation Cesare Prandelli would select, and as predicted by much of the media, it was an untested 3-5-2 system, which saw Roma midfielder Daniele De Ro si drop back to partner Giorgio Chiellini and Leon Bonucci in a defensive trio. De Ro si excelled in his new role
Michael Mcleod Jersey from the early stages, as he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and drove Italy forward. Spurred on by De Ro sis combativene s, the Azzurri began to control the game, and on thirteen minutes Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas was called into action as he scrambled to divert an Andrea Pirlo freekick away from his goal.Casillas looked le s composed as he spilled Claudio Marchisios driven shot mid-way through the first half, and minutes later he faired only slightly better as another thunderbolt from Marchisio was drilled straight at the Spaniard.Perhaps because they lacked an attacking pivot to revolve around, Xavi and Andres Iniestas probing play was yielding little in the way of chances, until the two combined to free Iniesta, but the Barcelona man could only fire tamely over Gianluigi Buffons goal.But it was Italy who finished the first half the better as Thiago Mottas close range header from Antonio Ca sanos cro s brought a flying save Casillas just moments before the interval.Despite being nothing more than a spectator for much of the first half, Buffon looked sharp when called into action to tip Iniestas goal-bound effort over the bar within the first few minutes of
Miles Wood Kids Jersey the second half.The enigmatic Mario Balotelli, who had hustled and bustled all afternoon, then nicked the ball from the toe of a dithering Sergio Ramos on the touchline, and with acres of space in front of him bore down on goal. With Ca sano bursting into the box, and Casillas drawn to his near post, Balotelli hesitated however, allowing the backtracking Ramos to recover with a superb tackle.Balotellis indecision saw him removed, as Prandelli replaced the Manchester City forward with Di Natale, who had only been on the field for a matter of seconds before he collected Pirlos superb through ball, before calmly curling the ball around the advancing Casillas to give
Brian Gibbons Jersey the Azzurri a precious lead.But Spains cla s shone through, as Iniesta fed Silva, whose clever flick into the box found Fabregas, who in turn drilled a shot underneath the reach of Buffon for an instant reply.The game then dramatically opened up as first Di Natale prodded wide when well placed, before Marchisios mazy run and neat give and go with Di Natale was only rewarded with a tame effort directed straight at Casillas by the Juventus midfielder.But nothing could match the hat-trick of chances thrown away by late arrival Torres, the best of which saw the Chelsea man lob the ball
Stefan Noesen Jersey over the frame of Buffons goal when the Italian goalkeeper was caught outside his box.The draw ended Spains run of fourteen consecutive victories, but will feel like a well won point for both sides after an entertaining encounter, that saw both nations show enough quality to indicate that they should each make it through the group without complications.
