Will Spain's tiki-tapas penne Italy in or will they get pasta them? ESP - ITA

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Emerson coming in for the unfortunate Spinazzola will be one of the talking points ahead of tonight, and could be the chink in the Italian armour Spain seek to exploit. After Friday night, the one thing all of Europe are hoping for is that the Italians don't get a half-time lead and then kill the game as effectively as they did against Belgium. For the neutral, the game will be better if it's Italy chasing it late on.

[ad hoc]

I was going to comment that neither team has been behind yet so we don't know how they'd react but I think Spain were for a short time 1-0 down to Croatia

[Patrick Thistle]

Are Spain still doing the tiki-taka? It feels like they've been a bit more exciting to watch this tournament.

[ad hoc]

Are Spain still doing the tiki-taka? It feels like they've been a bit more exciting to watch this tournament.

There are times when i think people are wrong and then think "Oh Ok they just have a different opinion from me" and then there are other times when I just think people are objectively wrong

[Sporting]

Spain have had 95 shots on goal compared to Italy's 101.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Emerson coming in for the unfortunate Spinazzola will be one of the talking points ahead of tonight, and could be the chink in the Italian armour Spain seek to exploit. After Friday night, the one thing all of Europe are hoping for is that the Italians don't get a half-time lead and then kill the game as effectively as they did against Belgium. For the neutral, the game will be better if it's Italy chasing it late on.

Really looking forward to this.

I've always liked Emerson when he's managed to get a game for Chelsea, good temperament and carries a goal threat. However, recent managers haven't fancied him and he's no Spinazzola, who's been my player for the tournament so far.

Weather in the area has been rotten. Lots of rain and high winds are forecast for today, which may play a part in the outcome.

[Patrick Thistle]

There are times when i think people are wrong and then think "Oh Ok they just have a different opinion from me" and then there are other times when I just think people are objectively wrong

I don't get what you're trying to say here.

Maybe I'm being confused by some of the scorelines.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Spain could always score goals if they wanted to, even at the height of tiki-taka. When these two met in the 2012 final Spain ripped them apart 4-0.

[Ray de Galles]

I liked this observation from a former OTFer :

https://twitter.com/simontreanor/status/1411427089782349825?s=21

[ad hoc]

I don't get what you're trying to say here.

I think I'm mixing up "exciting" and "enjoyable to watch". Spain's game against Croatia was clearly exciting. The others in this tournament not so much (and in a couple of cases not remotely). In the past they were sometimes not "exciting" but they were always enjoyable to watch. Though I concede a large swathe of OTF didn't think so and found their brand of (what to me was beautiful) football awful, because of a lack of long balls, or constant end to end franticness. Or something. (This constituency now try to paint themselves as this poor oppressed minority bravely standing up for CharlesHughes-ism against a vast occupying army of hipster chinstrokers)

(Given that another thread has dissolved into misunderstanding and misrepresentation, I should perhaps add here that I'm attempting to be light hearted)

[tee rex]

I was really impressed by Spain's approach to extra time v Croatia. Less so v Switzerland, because it was against 10. But they weren't tediously cagey in either. So I'm holding out hope for a pretty watchable game.

It'll be an all-time classic if I oversleep, kick off at 7 am.

[Nocturnal Submission]

I liked this observation from a former OTFer :

https://twitter.com/simontreanor/status/1411427089782349825?s=21

I really feel like I should know this, but what was his OTF nom de cyber plume? Is it Jimmy Bignutz?

[ad hoc]

yes

[Nocturnal Submission]

Ta.

Shame he no longer graces us with his presence.

[Patrick Thistle]

ad hoc I think I'm basing my observation on rhe last 30 minutes and extra time against Croatia and the game against Switzerland which was tense and very watchable. Looking at my wallchart I haven't watched any other Spain games, probably deliberately because I'm one of those people who found them dull to watch then they were winning finals 1-0 and tapping it round the back for 87 minutes. So, yeah, I withdraw my adjective.

I reckon they might beat Italy though.

[Satchmo Distel]

Italy only killed the last 20 minutes against Belgium. There's no evidence they'd park the bus at 1-0.

[imp]

I am massively looking forward to both semi-finals.

Re. the Spain revisionism - I started off admiring them, but then I wearied of their invincibility. Iniesta was just tiresomely brilliant and inhumanly consistent - how dare he? It reminded me of being a wee lad playing on my own in the park, then some big lads came and started playing possession football with my nice leather ball and I was just running around after it, laughing at first, then whining, then flopping to the floor, crying and pleading.

Now they feel like a proper team again - brilliant in parts, but fallible too.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

A way to hopefully deflate the stuff on other threads is to do it here.

[Duncan Gardner]

Getting nervous now.Forza Azzuri

[Sean of the Shed]

I was really impressed by Spain's approach to extra time v Croatia. Less so v Switzerland, because it was against 10. But they weren't tediously cagey in either. So I'm holding out hope for a pretty watchable game.

It'll be an all-time classic if I oversleep, kick off at 7 am.

Personally I thought they showed the right approach in both games, it was just their execution in the latter was utter pants.

[Sporting]

Personally I thought they showed the right approach in both games, it was just their execution in the latter was utter pants.

This.

[ad hoc]

3 changes for Spain. Morata dropped (finally) and replaced by Olmo who looked the part when he came on against Switzerland. Sarabia injured which will be a big loss (though not as big as the loss of Spinazzola for Italy)

[caja-dglh]

Given Rogin's temptation for food for the Semi's we are clearly setting up for a Bacon/Gammon thread tomorrow.

[johnr]

I've said it before, but that BBC theme tune is an abomination, a travesty, an absolute mess. It makes no sense, it has no melody, no resolve. It's hopeless. It baffles me.

[Amor de Cosmos]

3 changes for Spain. Morata dropped (finally) and replaced by Olmo who looked the part when he came on against Switzerland. Sarabia injured which will be a big loss (though not as big as the loss of Spinazzola for Italy)

Love Olmo, but he's not a striker (OK some would say neither is Morata.)