Football Confederations Cup: Spain 7-6 Italy Azzurri beaten on penalties

An impressive Azzurri display in the semi-final against the World Champions. But the game ended 0-0. Giaccherini and Xavi hit the woodwork in extra time and the game went to penalties. Bonucci hit his spot kick over the crossbar. Now, Italy take on Uruguay for 3rd place on Sunday

Italy came very close to pulling off the win. They lost 7-6 on penalties to Spain in the semi-final of the Confederations Cup. The match was decided following an error by Bonucci, the first player on the night to miss his penalty after 13 others had converted theirs. Now, the Azzurri will play the final for 3rd place against Uruguay in Salvador on 30 June. The Roja went through to take on Brazil in Rio and stretched their unbeaten run of games to 26 despite not playing particularly well. Italy were fantastic in the 1st half and were the better side over the 90 minutes. They proved that they do possess “the soul” that coach Prandelli had spoken about in the pre-match press conference. Italy stood up to the Roja, who eventually got back into the game thanks to their freshness, individual skill and ability to take advantage of the slow pace – just the way everyone knows they play... – in extra time. Up until then Spain had only impressed off the pitch, thanks to the ‘significant others’ of Casillas and Pique - Sara Carbonero in the press room and Shakira in the terraces.