This is after coach Luis Enrique’s decision to name only one out and out striker in his squad to play against the much in-form Italian side this may sound cliche since Spain scored a total of ten goals against Croatia and Slovakia this still a concern, especially when you consider the highly experienced Giorgio Chiellini is a master in the art of defending.

 

At 36 there ought to be a question mark over Chiellini’s ability to keep pace in a tournament in which he suffered an early injury, but his positioning, technique. vast experience and outstanding aerial ability mean he may still have the edge here, especially as the pace is not necessarily Morata’s primary quality.

Morata made such a poor start to the tournament that he suffered some serious online abuse from fans frustrated at his lack of goals and finishing power, but he has made amends with strikes against Poland and Croatia and has been influential in recent ties.

But you’d expect Chiellini to have too much guile and power to lose this battle.

Midfield Jorginho vs Pedri

It would be easy to put Jorginho up against Spanish legend Sergio Busquets as two iconic midfield metronomes, but there’s a twist in the tail here. Chelsea’s Jorginho has been excellent so far, but he may not have the freedom of Wembley to make his sweeping passes and forward runs when rising star Pedri is on the other side.

With Busquets keeping Spain ticking over in deeper areas it is the more youthful Pedri who brings energy, drive and forward momentum. So, Jorginho may find himself moving backwards to cover the Barcelona man rather than driving forward to feed his Italian forward line.

Pedri is only 18 years old and inexperienced at this level but he has been fearless in Euro 2020 nevertheless. If Jorginho doesn’t track his runs diligently then Italy could be in trouble, but the Chelsea man is no defensive slouch: only N’Golo Kante has registered more interceptions and tackles in the tournament so far, and at 29 he has the advantage of experience.

Goalkeepers Simon v Donnarumma

There is a high likelihood that goalkeepers will play a huge part in deciding who wins at Wembley, whether in normal time or in a penalty shoot-out – and there isn’t much between them.

Howler against Croatia aside, Spain’s Unai Simon has had a wonderful tournament considering nobody was certain he would start the campaign ahead of David de Gea.

A clean sheet in the opening match against Sweden set him up nicely before he became a national hero in the quarter-finals, saving two penalties in the shoot-out against Switzerland.

Donnarumma, however, is a phenomenon. He is just 22 years old and yet has 31 caps for his country and almost 250 appearances for Milan, so is highly experienced. Keep an eye out for his infamous 120-Euro gloves which feature 288 spikes to help him punch the ball more effectively!

Could that give him the edge over 24-year-old Simon? Probably not. But penalties could turn out to be the key.

Simon has the tournament edge in that respect, but Donnarumma has saved 15 penalties in his career in normal play and Simon has stopped just five. It’s anybody’s call.