Two high profile soccer teams meet in the Soccer Betting Euro 2008 quarterfinals on Sunday as Italy takes on Spain. Italy will not be at full strength on Sunday as Andrea Barzagli is out with a knee injury while midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso are suspended due to accumulated cards. “That neither of them are there is the best news for Spain,” Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas said. Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro is also out of the tournament due to an ankle injury.

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Three-way line – Spain +140, Italy +200, Draw +200

“We’re going to do it. We’re going to win,” Spain’s Fabregas said, “We have to do it however we can. If we have to play ugly, we’ll do so.” The Italian injuries could be a problem considering Spain has scored eight goals in its three games. Forward David Villa leads the tournament with four goals. Italy may have to score some goals on Sunday to keep up. Forward Luca Toni has not scored yet in Euro 2008 and the Italians will need his offense on Sunday. “I’m sure Toni will break out soon,” Italy’s Massimo Ambrosini said. “He’s had his chances.”

Spain coach Luis Aragones has said his team is fully healthy for Sunday’s match. Carles Puyol and David Silva have returned from injuries. “I hope that the best team wins. And that the best will be Spain,” Aragones said.
Spain has won nine straight games overall in all competitions and has not lost in their last 18 matches. Spain defeated Italy 1-0 in a friendly in March but they have never defeated the Italians in a tournament that mattered. Sunday’s match is the first meeting between the two in a major tournament since the 1994 World Cup, when Italy won 2-1.

Spain will have to break a big jinx if they are to win on Sunday. They have had all kinds of trouble on June 22nd in history. They have lost three penalty shootouts on this date in history. They lost to Belgium in the Mexico World Cup in 1986; they lost to England in Euro 1996 and lost to South Korea in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Italy has not had much success on June 22nd either. They were eliminated on this date in Euro 2004 and lost in Euro 1988 as well on June 22nd.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 at 2:52 am and is filed under 2008 Euro Finals, 2008 Euro Qualifier, 2008 UEFA Euro Finals, European Football Betting, Italy, Soccer News, Spain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.