ON SUNDAY, Italy will compete against Spain in the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup finals. After Spain's hard-fought penalty-kick win against Portugal on Wednesday, Italy smashed Germany 2-1 in semi-finals on Thursday. Now, both teams are facing the finals. When the two last met in the group stages on June 10, they ended with a 1-1 draw, so it's anyone's game for Sunday's finals. (However, when the teams met in a friendly match back in August 2011, Italy defeated Spain 2-1.) If Spain wins, they will be the first team in soccer history ever to win three major tournaments in a row (previously: 2010 World Cup, 2008 Euro Cup). They are already the first team ever to advance to a third final in a row. On the other hand, Italy has a lot at stake here as well. They won the previous World Cup in 2006 and are the second most successful national team in World Cup history, with a total of 4 World Cups; that said, their first and only Euro Cup win was in 1968.

In this tournament, Spain came out on top in the group stages, despite their draw with Italy. Both teams are extremely motivated but have very different styles. Spain relies heavily on a strong defense and short-passing techniques, whereas Italy is generally focused on the offense. This one is tough to call, but we think that Spain will take it all yet again, especially with the advantage of an extra day of rest before the big final.