LONDON -- In the end, Italy reverted to type, and so did Alvaro Morata. Neither happened by design -- far from it, in fact. But Roberto Mancini can plan for Sunday's Euro 2020 final after the Azzurri held Spain 1-1 in 120 minutes before winning the resulting penalty shootout 4-2 at Wembley.
The general consensus before these finals was that Morata's form would largely define how far Spain could go. And this semifinal encapsulated the existential conundrum at the heart of Luis Enrique's approach: Morata was left out of the starting lineup to facilitate greater control in midfield, yet he came off the bench to produce the moment of magic that drew them level in the 80th minute, only to then fluff his spot kick, giving Jorginho the chance to roll in a penalty that sent the wall of blue behind Unai Simon's goal into a frenzy and Spain out of the tournament.