For the majority of the 90 minutes, Italy would bend but not shatter. Until they did.

Riccardo Calafiori scored an own goal in the 55th minute to give Spain a 1-0 victory against the defending champion Azzurri in an intriguing Group B match in Gelsenkirchen at UEFA Euro 2024.

It was the 12th match between the two teams, and the fourth in a row at the quadrennial competition, a European record.

Spain took the lead nearly immediately after the opening whistle, with Nico Williams spearheading the аttаck on several occasions. The Athletic winger was a terror on the right, putting Giovanni Di Lorenzo through the ringer at practically every opportunity. Williams almost had things going in the second minute. His pass to Pedri was spot on, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was up to the challenge and turned away the Barcelona forward’s header.

In the eleventh, Williams himself came close. Williams headed over the bar after latching onto a lovely cross from Alvaro Morata.

Donnarumma had to make a double save halfway through the opening frame to keep the match scoreless. He first parried Morata’s shot at a severe angle before stopping Fabian Ruiz from distance in the 26th minute with a diving stop.

The two teams went into the interval 0-0, with La Roja well aware that a more clinical team would be ahead, possibly by several goals.

The second half started much like the first, with Spain on the front foot, forcing the Azzurri to keep me𝚗 behind the ball.

The dam finally broke for Italy in the 55th.

Williams once again got things started. He blasted a cross to Morata, who deflected it into the net. Donnarumma parried the ball away, but it fell directly into the path of Calafiori, who redirected it into his own net.

Spain continued to аttаck after taking the lead. In the 59th minute, a Robin Le Normand header appeared to be going inside the post if Andrea Cambiaso hadn’t intervened. Only two minutes later, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal narrowly missed a special goal.

Donnarumma then kept his club alive in stoppage time with two great saves on second-half replacement Ayoze Perez.

Spain lasted 90 minutes and deserved their victory. The Azzurri provided little going forward and scarcely challenged Unai Simon.

With Croatia and Albania drawing 2-2 on Wednesday, Spain secured a berth in the Round of 16 with a victory ahead of Matchday 3.

Albania meets Spain in Dusseldorf on Monday, while the Azzurri face Croatia in Leipzig.

Spain will be without Rodri for the match after the Manchester City midfielder received a second yellow card.