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Italy can rely on Spain to beat Croatia, believes Motta
Posted Friday, June 15, 2012 by Goal.com

Italy can rely on Spain to beat Croatia, believes Motta

Italy midfielder Thiago Motta believes Spain will set out to beat Croatia, despite only needing a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals.

With Group C heading into the final round on games on Monday, the Italians are reliant on Vicente del Bosque’s side coming out victorious.
A 1-1 draw between Spain and Croatia would mean that Italy have to score at least three times against the Republic of Ireland, while a 2-2 stalemate would send them home on head to head goals scored, but the Brazilian is confident the holders will aim for the win.

Motta told Rai: "We know them; they will try to win.

"I don't have the slightest doubt about it. We are all professionals and we are at the Euros."

Mistakes is their opening two games could prove costly for Italy but the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is not ready to dwell on the dropped points and is already looking forward to their final game against the Republic of Ireland.

He continued: "We wasted the chances we created in the first half and we did not close out the game.

"But football is like this and we are now thinking of the next [game], even though we know that Ireland will not be easy."

Standings
    Rank Team W/D/L Pts

    Cities & Stadiums

    The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments

    Year Winners Runner-up Third place
    2008SpainGermanyRussia / Turkey
    2004GreecePortugalNetherlands / Czech Republic
    2000FranceItalyNetherlands / Portugal
    1996GermanyCzech RepublicFrance / England
    1992DenmarkGermanyNetherlands / Sweden
    1988NetherlandsSoviet UnionItaly / West Germany
    1984FranceSpainDenmark / Portugal
    1980West GermanyBelgiumCzechoslovakia
    1976CzechoslovakiaWest GermanyNetherlands
    1972West GermanySoviet UnionBelgium
    1968ItalyYugoslaviaEngland
    1964SpainSoviet UnionHungary
    1960Soviet UnionYugoslaviaCzechoslovakia