Spain beats Italy – ZDF presenter Jochen Breyer instructs experts

European Championship 2024

At the end of the seventh day of the European Championship, Spain won the classic match against Italy 1-0. The Iberians are now safely in the round of 16.

The goals

1:0 Riccardo Calafiori (55./own goal)

Quote of the 90 minutes

“They collect deals like other loyalty points,” said ZDF commentator Oliver Schmidt shortly before the end of the first half. He is absolutely right. Despite numerous top-class chances in the first half, the score was 0:0.

The Spaniards must be blamed for their lack of composure, as they had already had nine shots on goal at that point. The Italians did not shoot once at the Spanish goal with goalkeeper Unai Simon in the entire first half.

Number of game: 18

The second half was only 18 seconds old when the first yellow card was given. It was for Bryan Cristante, who had only been substituted on for the second half. “A little more physicality in midfield,” ZDF commentator Oliver Schmidt had explained the change seconds earlier.

It was a direct hit, just like Cristante’s first move. The Italian stamped on his opponent Rodri, stepping on his foot. He also hit him on the knee, and the Spaniard had to be treated, but was ultimately able to continue playing.

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De Rossi of the game

The match in Gelsenkirchen attracted not only fans from Spain and Italy, but also German football celebrities. Namely: Benedikt Höwedes. The long-time German international made it very clear which team he was rooting for.

He presented himself in Italy’s home jersey from the 2012 European Championship – with the number 16 of Daniele de Rossi. The Squadra Azzurra eliminated Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals. Höwedes was on the bench, de Rossi was in Italy’s starting eleven. So this shirt is unlikely to be a nice souvenir for Höwedes or any other German football fan.

The referee moment

Although ZDF presenter Jochen Breyer had no say in the field, he nevertheless intervened boldly in the reporting and especially the choice of words of his experts.

When Per Mertesacker and Christoph Kramer repeatedly talked about the “player material” of the two teams before kick-off, Breyer intervened. “Player material – because you both use the term a lot – I know that some fans at home will be critical of that, because people are not material. Maybe in the future we’ll just say ‘squad’ or ‘player potential’.”

Jochen Breyer is not a fan of the term “player material”.Image: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

After that, all that could be heard from both experts was a meek “OK.” Breyer ignored this and continued analyzing the two squads.

THE scene of the game

It was significant that it was an Italian defender, Riccardo Calafiori, who got the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 55th minute. The centre-back was unable to avoid Nico Williams’ sharp cross and, from his point of view, the goal was extremely unfortunate.

The Spanish offensive on the other hand had given the impression that it needed help from the opposition. The Iberians had previously scored three times from excellent positions, but Pedri had missed two great chances and Nico Williams once.

What’s next for the teams

Spain will face Albania in Düsseldorf on Monday evening at the end of the group phase. The Iberians will have to do without Rodri as the midfielder has been suspended for a yellow card. The Italians, on the other hand, will face Croatia in the parallel match in Leipzig.