Spain's road to a European Championship repeat goes through Italy on Sunday as the two teams clash in the final of Euro 2012 at Olympic Stadium in Kiev.
No team has ever repeated as Euro champion and Spain would also set another record with a victory, becoming the first international team to win three-straight Major championships. In case you forgot Spain is also the reigning World Cup champ.
The Spanish earned their spot in the final by getting past Portugal in the semifinals. The game against Portugal ended in a 0-0 draw, but Spain prevailed with a 4-2 win on penalties. The Spanish defense made Portugal super star Cristiano Rinaldo invisible in the loss, while goal tender Iker Casillas continued his strong play. Spain has outscored their opponents 7-3 in the tournament so far.
At Sportsbook Spain is a +110 favorite in the final, while Italy is listed at +260. The draw odds for the match were set at +240. The updated futures odds at Sportsbook list Spain hoisting the Euro trophy again at -170, while Italy is a +135 underdog to win their second ever Euro title and first since 1968.
Italy may be the underdog in the final, but that shouldn't matter to them after they already pulled off an upset over Germany in the semifinals. Italy was a +400 underdog versus Germany but came away with a 2-1 victory. Mario Balotelli scored both goals in the first half for Italy and their stout defense and goal tender Gianluigi Buffon took care of the rest.
The Italians have been incredibly strong defensively in the tournament, outscoring their opponents 10-2. That includes a 1-1 draw versus Spain in the Group Stage. Both Spain and Italy were placed in Group C and they met in their tournament debut which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Before their Group Stage match the last meeting between Spain and Italy was an international friendly in Italy August 2011. Italy won that matchup 2-1. They also met up in the quarterfinals at Euro 2008 four years ago, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. Spain won 4-2 on penalties. Looking back even further in the last 12 matches between Spain and Italy the Italian have won four times, Spain has two wins and the other six matches have ended as a draw.
