Thiago’s hat-trick helps Spain to reclaim U-21 title

Spain have successfully defended their European U-21 Championship title with a dominating 4-2 win over Italy in an entertaining fixture in Jerusalem, as Thiago Alcantara netted a marvelous hat-trick in the opening half.

Italy were not just good enough to cope with Spain’s technically gifted players, who clearly dominated possession throughout the 90 minutes, and conceded a goal after six minutes, after Thiago netted a close-range header. Though Ciro Immobile leveled the game four minutes later with a lovely chip over De Gea, Spain gradually took control of the game and the half-time score 3-1 to a large extent reflected the state of things. Thiago added his second from Koke’s cross in the 31st minute and completed his hat trick 7 minutes later from the penalty spot. Isco extended Spain’s lead after converting the second penalty of the evening in the 66th minute, while Fabio Borini clawed one back from long range ten minutes before the final whistle.

With the senior side having claimed both the World Cup and European Championship titles in the last four years, it looks like Spain will dominate the international football for years to come.