It was a fight, but both Italy and Spain have reached the Euro 2020 semi-finals and will now renew a rivalry that has been a memorable one over the history of this prestigious tournament. When the Azzurri and La Roja take to the pitch at Wembley on Tuesday (3 pm ET/noon PT, TSN 1, 3, 4, 5) with a spot in Sunday’s final on the line, it will mark the seventh time that these two storied nations have met at a Euro since 1980.

Italy heads into the final four on the back of an impressive 2-1 victory over world No. 1 Belgium in the quarters on goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne and is the only remaining team in the tournament with a perfect record. Now undefeated in their past 32 matches, the Azzurri are 5-0 at Euro 2020 with their first European Championship since 1968 firmly in their sights.

Spain remains undefeated at Euro 2020, but their road to the semis has been considerably rockier than Italy’s. After surviving a major scare against Croatia in the Round of 16, La Roja outlasted a plucky Switzerland side on penalties in the quarters thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Unai Simon. Should La Roja reach the final, it would be the third time in the last four Euros that Spain would play for the championship.

Italy manager Roberto Mancini says getting past a team of this quality won’t be easy.

"It will be difficult, even if Spain are different from Belgium,” Mancini said. “It will not be the same kind of game compared to the previous one, but it will present many difficulties for sure. Spain have been extraordinary for years, even if now there has been a change and they are a younger side. They have a good coach and very good players."

Mancini, who has won league titles as gaffer of Inter and Manchester City, says that the current Spain side’s style of play echoes the tiki-taka made famous by previous teams.

"They invented it, it has led them to extraordinary successes and they continue to do it well,” Mancini said. “Our possession is slightly different; we are Italian and we cannot suddenly become Spanish. We will try to play our game."

Where Spain and Italy are likely to come to loggerheads is over possession. Both teams have utilized possession-heavy tactics thus far in the tournament and that’s obviously not going to work for one of these two on Tuesday.

“I don't think both of us can dominate, so it'll be interesting to see who wins this tussle,” Spain manager Luis Enrique said. “Apart from having top players, Italy are a real team. They attack and defend as a unit, which is really similar to what we do. They also employ a high press, which it would be hard to imagine an Italian side from the past doing. Now they're strong in several ways of playing, meaning that the game will be really interesting. Both teams will have their moments.”

The Azzurri will be forced to move forward without one of the stars of the tournament in wingback Leonardo Spinazzola. The Roma man ruptured his Achilles in the second half against Belgium and will now be out of action for several months.

"We have just spoken to him after he underwent surgery,” Italy and Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci said. “He was the one to push us to do great things tomorrow, because he wants to be here to watch us on Sunday – and we want him here as well."

Bonucci understands how difficult it is to pick a winner between these two sides.

"There are no favourites; we have had a good path up to now but everything must be achieved yet,” Bonucci said. “We need to focus on what we need to improve. Playing against such a strong team must be an extra motivation for us."

In their history at the Euro, these sides are as even as they can be with Italy and Spain posting identical 2-2-2 records. They last met at Euro 2016 in the Round of 16 in Paris. Goals from Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle gave the Azzurri a 2-0 victory.

But the most famous meeting between the Azzurri and La Roja came in 2012. After a 1-1 draw in the group stage, the two sides played for a second time, but this time in the final in Kyiv. While the first match was a cagey, cautious affair, the second match was one-sided traffic. La Roja ran rampant in a 4-0 rout on goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata as then-World Cup champions Spain won their third consecutive major international tournament and second straight Euro title.

POTENTIAL ITALY XI: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne 

POTENTIAL SPAIN XI: Simon; Azpilicueta, Garcia, Laporte, Alba; Koke, Busquets, Pedri; Moreno, Morata, Olmo