Italy outplay England from start to finish over 120 minutes but still require spot-kicks to book a place in the last four of Euro after a resilient display by Roy Hodgson’s men. The goalless draw was at least beneficial to Fantasy managers, with both defences returning clean sheets for their owners last night – the Azzurri now square up to Germany on Thursday, while England board the next flight home:
England 0 Italy 0
Roy Hodgson kept faith in the same XI that saw off Ukraine in the previous match, with Wayne Rooney partnering Danny Welbeck up top. The former looked well off the pace throughout, though, and managed just two efforts all game – indeed, as an attacking force, England were virtually non-existent, with a single shot on target all evening. Joe Hart picked up eight points, thanks to eight saves and a clean sheet, while both Joleon Lescott and Glen Johnson benefitted from the recovered balls rule to produce seven points apiece. Lescott finished the tournament as England’s top points scorer with 24, just one ahead of Steven Gerrard – the skipper picked up five points last night after registering a staggering 13 recovered balls; a clear indication of just how much his side were under the cosh as he helped break up wave after wave of Italian attacks.
For Italy, Cesare Prandelli made three alterations from the game against Republic of Ireland. Leonardo Bonucci replaced the injured Giorgio Chiellini at centre-half, while Thiago Motta and Antonio Di Natale made way for Riccardo Montolivo and Mario Balotelli respectively.
Bonucci was Italy’s main performer after producing an eight point haul thanks to 11 recovered balls but Chiellini may return by Thursday, raising doubts against his acquisition. Ignazio Abate looks an absolute steal at 4.9 in the McDonald’s game – with Christian Maggio now suspended for the semis, the former’s role at right-back looks nailed-on. Federico Balzaretti also stood out, picking up a seven point return at the back and is available for 5.4 – whether you’d want to back them against the Germans, though, is another matter entirely.
Andrea Pirlo was unlucky not to grab any attacking returns – he provided six goalscoring opportunities for his team mates (equalled, intriguingly, by Claudio Marchisio) while Fantasy owners of Antonio Cassano and, in particular, Mario Balotelli will be frustrated after the pair fired 15 shots between them, with the latter managing 10. Both look likely to lead the line again on Thursday and, with so much uncertainty over Joachim Low’s forwards, look decent mid-price alternatives for those Fantasy managers who fancy the Azzurri to upset the odds, coming in at 8.0 and 8.5 respectively in the McDonald’s game.
