GDANSK, Poland (AP) ― For Spain, a tie counted as a bit of a stumble. For Italy, a bit of a reprieve.
Opening their bid for a third straight major title, the Spanish rallied to earn a 1-1 tie Sunday against Italy, which entered this year’s European Championship amid another match-fixing scandal.
Antonio Di Natale put Italy in front after an excellent setup from Andrea Pirlo in the 61st minute, but Cesc Fabregas tied it for the defending champions three minutes later by finishing off a dazzling display of Spain’s trademark passing game.
“Being the favorite now is complicated, but in the end we found the character,” Fabregas said.
Spain, which followed up its Euro 2008 victory with the 2010 World Cup title, dominated the Group C match for long stretches but struggled to finish at times, while Italy relied on dangerous counterattacks.
“The thing that really disappoints us is that we allowed them to equalize very quickly,” Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. “We were playing the world champions and we should have made them work harder to get back into the game. We gave Spain the chance to score goals.”
The draw ended a 14-match winning streak for Spain in competitive matches, which began after a 1-0 loss to Switzerland to open the last World Cup.
Spain’s Sergio Ramos attempts a shot on goal against Italy. (AP-Yonhap News)
Spain pulled a surprise by starting with no regular strikers in its lineup, with Fabregas at forward between David Silva and Andres Iniesta ― leaving Fernando Torres, Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente on the bench.
“The first one to be surprised was me,” Fabregas said. “I was happy to have the opportunity, happy to be able to play. It’s been a month and half since I’ve played. To get the goal was nice.”
Italy countered with an attack of Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli and an untested three-man defense.
Di Natale replaced Balotelli in the 56th and scored five minutes later, collecting a pass from Pirlo just as he slipped in between two defenders, then expertly shooting around Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
The 34-year-old Di Natale has scored 20 or more goals the past three seasons with Udinese in Serie A.
Croatia tops Ireland
POZNAN, Poland (AP) ― Playing in a difficult group with Spain and Italy, it’s Croatia at the top.
The Croats took advantage of a frail Ireland defense to win their opening match at the European Championship, getting two goals from Mario Mandzukic in a 3-1 victory Sunday night at rainy Municipal Stadium.
“I still can’t believe what we just did. It was a fantastic victory,” Mandzukic said. “We knew it would be a tough match, but we responded excellently and we achieved a great victory.”
Croatia leads Group C with three points, while Spain and Italy each have one point after their 1-1 draw in Gdansk. Ireland, which is playing at a major tournament for the first time in 10 years, is last. The Croats next face Italy on Thursday.
“Probably one victory will be enough to go to the quarterfinals,” Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said.
Croatia took the lead in the third minute when Mandzukic looped a header past a diving Shay Given, but Ireland equalized in the 19th when Sean St. Ledger headed in Aiden McGeady’s free kick from the left.