LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Harry Kane of England is congratulated by Phil Foden after scoring the second goal during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Semi-final match between England and Denmark at Wembley Stadium on July 07, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Euro 2020 final pitting arguably the two best teams of the tournament
All roads have led to this as the final of Euro 2020 will see Italy take on England at Wembley Stadium.
The Italians reached the final after besting Spain in penalties whereas England where taken to extra time by Denmark before coming out the victors.
For England, this is their first final in a major tournament since winning the World Cup back in 1966. It’s been little else other than heartbreak since then.
Despite the game taking place at Wembley and the “It’s coming home” talk, England manager Gareth Southgate is not taking anything for granted.
“I didn’t want to listen to it for 15 years because it was too painful for me,” Southgate said. “You have to know the English to understand our humor. It is certainly not arrogant. The lyrics are making fun of ourselves and things that have gone wrong.
“It’s not necessarily about doing better. The key is to hit your normal level. Lots of teams in finals end up under-performing. It’s about transferring what you do on the training pitch into the match. This game now is a different tactical challenge and we have got to prepare properly for that.”
Source: UEFA
The Three Lions’ manager is unlikely to deviate from the script that got his team to the final. In other words, do not expect the likes of Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish or Phil Foden to start.
While the conservative style of play has generally not been to the satisfaction of supporters, it’s worked and against an Italy side that will prove more of a threat at Denmark, they’ll need to be strong at the back and not give away possession easily.
Even without the ball, Italy were still dangerous against Spain and all it took was one counter attack started by Gianluigi Donnarumma for Italy to score.
For the Italians, winning the final would put a bow to their return on the national stage. Failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was a big blow but they’ve turned things around under Roberto Mancini.
They don’t seem to be nervous heading into the final or, at the very least, doing a good job of not making it noticeable.
“It will be difficult for many reasons but we must be focused on our game and try to implement it as best we can, knowing that it will be the last game,” Mancini said. “We hope to have fun for 90 minutes and then go on holiday. One last effort is needed.”
Source: UEFA
Italy started off on a strong foot, getting out of their group rather comfortably. But they’ve struggled a bit in their knockout games. Despite that, they’ve been able to overcome the teams in their way.
On paper, it looks like it will be a game decided by Italy’s midfield. The initiative will be on them as England are quite content to sit back and wait for the opponent to make a mistake. it’s why Southgate is unlikely to change from his two central midfielders, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips.
“I don’t think that England only have two very physical midfielders,” Mancini said. “They are a very physically capable side all across the pitch. They are stronger than us from that perspective, but you play football with the ball on the deck and we hope we can do a better job on that score. We hope that those will be important qualities tomorrow night.”
Source: UEFA
Italy are the slight favorites heading into the final. England have only given up one goal all tournament long and that was in the semifinal against Denmark. It will be interesting to see how they react going down to a team who solid both in defense and in attack.
England has also played only one away match in Euro 2020. With the final taking place at Wembley, they’ll undoubtedly also be counting on some home field advantage.
