Azzurri agonisingly short in a cracker against Brazil.

A more than dull first half was followed by a more than than entertaining second half, that had almost everything in it apart from the proverbial kitchen sink.

Brazil started off the game in the same vain as all their preceding Confederations Cup games, however this time without a goal, with the trio of Hulk, Oscar and Neymar posing all the problems again, but a combination of resolute Italian defending and Gianluigi Buffon kept them at bay.

Both teams were sloppy in the opening stages, but it was clear that the Japan match had taken a lot out of the Azzurri, this combined with Brazil's high pressure, continued to cause their defence problems. The Brazilians attacking flair was on show in the bulk of the first period, Neymar fired wide with the first real opportunity of the game, however the majority of the first half was a niggly affair, occasionally lit up by the odd bit of Brazilian skill. In truth, there were more substitutions and yellow cards in the first half than clear cut chances. It only took one chance for Brazil though, with a hint of offside Thiago Silva forced a decent save from Buffon and home-boy Dante, who had came on for David Luiz, forced home the rebound to liven up a very dull first half in the fourty-sixth minute, on the half-time whistle.

Dante opens the scoring.

That goal kicked things off in the second half, and oh boy did it kick things off.

Brazil yet again were fastest out of the blocks, with a mazy passing and dribbling move saw Oscar fire at Buffon, when Neymar was better placed. All the pressure from Brazil was worthless though, as Giaccherini was set free from one of the best route one goals I've seen, and hammered home to Cesar's far post. Buffon's mammoth kick was headed on, then a brilliant Balotelli back-heel flick set Giaccherini in and he duly finished the move off.

Neymar then set about setting the score straight. Another one of those runs saw him fouled on the edge of the box, but as Neymar has been doing, this wasn't enough. He dusted himself down and smashed a free-kick into the top left corner, the same side Buffon was standing at, but it came at him so quickly, he couldn't move. Neymar had his third wonder-goal of the tournament in as many games, wonder if anyone still believes he's over rated..

Neymar celebrates his wonderful free-kick.

The Italians came back into the game straight away however, as Balotelli caused havoc and had a decent appeal for a penalty turned down. Of course that was short lived, this is Brazil we're talking about. A long ball up the pitch found Fred, who chested, kneed and bundled his way excellently past Chiellini and then thundered the ball past a helpless Buffon, a truly wonderful goal, a proper old fashioned forwards finish.

Then, as a promised you, more madness, this is Italy and Brazil after all. An extended period of Italian pressure produced several corners, then after Balotelli was seemingly fouled, the referee apparently blew his whistle for the foul, but Chiellini had tapped home and the Italians set about appealing for a goal, almost instantly the referee changed his mind and gave the goal, They were pleased, the Brazilians far from however, furious protests ensued  almost as bad as outside the ground, they were frivolous.

Chiellini had gave Italy some brief hope.

The Italians pressed hard, Balotelli was unlucky not to have a free-kick/penalty, and was then denied by the woodwork as his header smacked against the bar. Italy exerted their pressure for a full fifteen minutes, but as happened earlier in the game, Brazil weren't finished. A flowing Brazilian move resulted in Marcelo firing at Buffon, but he failed to hold onto the ball and Fred was there to tap in for his brace and that was all she wrote.

A fantastic game in Salvador had unfortunately came to an end, a disappointing first half was followed by a second half that more than made up for the first. A Fred brace along with a magical Neymar free-kick and a debatable Dante header gave Brazil a much deserved win, despite Giaccherini and Chiellini's goals.

Brazil: Cesar; Marcelo, Thiago Silva, David Luiz (Dante 34'), Dani Alves; Hernanes, Luis Gustavo; Neymar (Bernard 69'), Hulk (Fernando 76'), Oscar, Fred.

Italy: Buffon; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci, Abate (Maggio 30'); Aquilani, Montolivo (Giaccherini 26'); Candreva, Marchisio, Diamanti (El Shaarawy 72'); Balotelli.

Match Report: Spain-Italy EURO Under 21 Final

Spain retained their European crown with a resounding 4-2 win over Italy, thanks to a perfect hat-trick from captain Thiago Alcantará and an Isco penalty, despite a valiant effort from the Italians, they were able to stop the proverbial bull in a China shop, which is Spain regarding trophies.

Spain celebrate their opening goal.

Both teams went into the final having not conceded a single goal from open play, with Spain having not conceded a goal what so ever. The two also finished comfortably top of their respective groups, and have been easily the best teams in the tournament. Strong all over the pitch, most countries around the world have looked on enviously at the class on show, with most of the players being linked away with moves to larger clubs. 

The main talking point before the game was Morata coming in for Rodrigo, the latter having a quiet tournament, but scoring in the semi-final and having scored fourteen goals in the twelve games leading up to the Euro's. However, Morata had scored four in his four games in the tournament, and Lopetegui opted for the Real Madrid man.

The Spanish started off brighter, with their tiki-taka style putting plenty of pressure on the Italian defence, with their resistance being tested from the start, it was Spain who drew first blood. Lopetegui's choice was more than justified as Morata cut back for Thiago who had the simplest of tasks to head home into an open goal after just six minutes. The Spanish pressure was mighty, and while they continued to press, a long ball up field from Donati was perfectly controlled by Immobile and his finish matched the pass and control as he chipped De Gea. He and Spain conceded their first goal of the tournament and the lead was gone after just three minutes.

Normal service was quickly resumed, as Bardi was forced into two good saves from Morata and then further from Koké. Despite the early warning, Spain always looked vulnerable on the counter, with De Gea forced into a good save after some excellent work by Florenzi. Equally, it took some desperate defending from the Italians to keep the Spanish quiet, but it would only last so long, as Koké played an inch perfect pass to the Spanish captain who chested down and hammered home, Bardi unlucky not to stop it, but the power got Thiago his brace.

The onslaught continued, and they soon had a penalty, Tello outpacing Donati and Thiago had the chance for his hat-trick, could he take it? Of course he could, Thiago completed his thirty-eight minute hat-trick, Bardi got something on it again, but not enough. Not only was it a hat-trick, a perfect hat-trick at that, with the Manchester United target adding an extra million or two to that price-tag. The dominance continued up until the half time whistle, as Italy looked for a glimmer of hope from the fifteen minutes of respite they'd have from the Spanish attack.

Thiago seals his hat-trick.

Different half, same story, with captain Alcantará testing Bardi once again, Italy came out with a fighting spirit but just couldn't find the clear cut chance that they needed, with Florenzi and Insigne blasting over when they had decent opportunities. The game fell into a lull with almost nothing happening, then in the sixty-third minute, the got the chance for their fourth Regini committing the foul on Montoya after a lovely bit of skill, the duties were left to Isco and he dully put away the penalty, sending Bardi the wrong way.

After this the game was essentially a non-contest, the Spaniards happy to keep the ball and chances for Italy few and far between. Bardi continued to keep the score down, with some vital saves, as Morata saw chance after chance go a miss, then a came pitch invasion, which everyone apart from Italy found rather amusing.

Hope for Italy though as they were rewarded with a great goal from Borini, after an exchange with Insigne he blasted home from twenty yards into De Gea's left-hand corner, despite having ten minutes left to try and create a nervy finish, they couldn't get another chance at goal and Spain were champions of Europe yet again, with the under 20 squad favourites for their World Cup, as Spain look set to continue their world domination.