Own goal is the lone goal

Spain beats defending champion Italy and advances to knockout round

- JAMES ROBSON

Italy's Riccardo Calafiori scores an own goal - which ended up being the game's only score against Spain in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

GELSENKIRCHEN , GERMANY Europe beware: Spain might be back.

The three-time European champion advanced to the round of 16 at Euro 2024 with a 1-0 win over defending champion Italy on Thursday.

A 55th-minute own goal by Riccardo Calafiori settled the Group B game at Veltins Arena. But that didn’t begin to tell the story of a statement performance that marks Spain as one of the favourites to win a record-extending fourth championship.