ROME -- A strong Italian side beat Spain 2-0 to qualify for the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 at the Stade de France in Paris on Monday evening, for whose victory the Eiffel Tower was lit up in white, red and green.  The azzurri managed to dispatch of the eight year in a row European champions with some spectacular playing and a couple of tidy goals.

 The first came in the form of a goal by Giorgio Chiellini 33 minutes in, whilst another spectacular one put away by Graziano Pellè just before the whistle, at 46 minutes into the second half, secured the win.  It came just after Italian goalkeeper Gigi Buffon had succeeded in saving them from a draw after stopping what looked like a sure goal by Spanish Gerard Piqué.

 Italian national television station RAI has also announced that 15,281,000 people tuned in to watch the match, the equivalent of 68.40 percent of license holders, an increase on the last ones.  The Spanish media, meanwhile, has deemed their loss “the end of an era” for Spain.

 Antonio Conte, manager and trainer for the Italian side, speaking straight after the match said, “I knew it would finish like this.  These boys are extraordinary; they have something special within them, out of the ordinary.  We’ve demonstrated that Italy is not a wreck: ideas can beat talent.”

 Italy will now go on to face Germany, the current world champions in the next round of the knockout stages.  Carlo Tavecchio, president of the Italian football association, had this to say about their upcoming match: “Germany should be worrying about this Italian side.  Yesterday even they saw that we had a masterful match, without giving in to the Spanish tiki-taka. Conte will study all possibilities well and we will arrive on the pitch with a fierce will to win.”

 He added, “We won with the play. I’m so proud, I never doubted that we would win.”  Of the upcoming match Conte said, “Now we need to enjoy this victory and rebuild our strength because against Germany will be a tough match, much more difficult that this one with Spain.”  He also mentioned that “we must not give up our hunger: up until this point we have been extraordinary, Saturday in Bordeaux we must be titans.”

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