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Italy take on England in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium in London tomorrow. Italy, the winners of this competition in 1968, made it to the final of Euro 2012, but lost to Spain eventually. However, they have won all their matches in Euro 2020 so far.
England, on the other hand, have reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since 1966, and would cherish their first ever European Championship win on home soil. England are going to play their sixth match of Euro 2020 at Wembley, and would be buoyed by home support.
England reached the final after beating Denmark 2-1 with the help of a controversial penalty decision, while Italy beat Spain in a penalty shootout. Both teams have been very consistent throughout Euro 2020. It would not be wrong to proclaim that the two best teams in Euro 2020 are meeting in the final.
Euro 2020: Three crucial factors that can decide the result in the final
#1 England’s attack vs Italy’s defence:
Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling, two of the most prolific goal-scorers of Euro 2020, will want to sign off with a victory on Sunday. But for that to happen, they would have to overcome a strong Italian defense.
In Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, Italy arguably have the best central defensive pairing at Euro 2020, and it would not be an easy task to score past them. However, each of Austria, Belgium and Spain managed to score in their respective knockout clashes with Italy, and England would take heart from that.
Kane might find himself heavily marked in and around the penalty box. Therefore, he will probably drop deep and play passes to the advancing wingers. One such pass that he played to Bukayo Saka, led to England’s opening goal against Denmark.
Therefore, Jorginho might have an eye on Kane every time the latter drops down to the midfield, and would not like to allow him to play the passes freely. Italy’s right-back Giovani Di Lorenzo would also need to have a check on the Sterling-Luke Shaw combination down the left flank.
Sterling has been involved in almost all the goals scored by England at Euro 2020 so far, and Italy would do well to guard against his probing runs into the penalty box, with or without the ball.
Jack Grealish, who has also impressed at Euro 2020, might play a vital role as a substitute. He would pose a serious threat to the Italian defense with his dribbling and passing skills. He expressed his willingness to feature in the final on Twitter:
#2 The midfield battle:
England have played two defensive midfielders, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, in every Euro 2020 match so far and the final will be no exception. Both those players have typically stayed near the halfway line whenever England have pressed high and made some vital interceptions too.
Phillips, in particular, has made some important recoveries near the halfway line and helped England win the ball. He has been one of the most impressive young players in Euro 2020.
Rice, on the other hand, has moved higher at times to help England exert more pressure on their opponents. His forward movement has meant that England’s opponents have had an extra man to mark in the final third.
However, Italy’s Nicolo Barella has the ability to play box-to-box, and his surging runs might push England’s midfield duo back further inside their own half. Barella will be a key man in this regard, and his occasional forward run might make it difficult for England to have the upper-hand in the middle third.
Marco Verratti will also look to make some vital challenges near the halfway line and thereby foil England’s efforts to take the attack to Italy from the midfield.
#3 Italy’s counter-attacking style and shooting prowess:
Italy have played enterprising football in most of their matches at Euro 2020 so far, but have also defended dourly in the second half against Belgium and for the majority of their match against Spain. They played classic counter-attacking football against Spain, and their only goal resulted from one such counter-attacking move.
Italy are again likely to play defensive football against football from the very beginning. Their front three of Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile and Federico Chiesa will look forward to receiving long through passes from their own half. The Italian team's official Twitter account also expressed something in this regard:
A player like Verratti is well capable of playing probing through passes to get the ball behind the opposition defensive line. England will have to be wary of such long passes.
Italy could also use Insigne’s probing runs through the left flank while attacking on the break. Insigne also has the ability to cut in from the left flank and then test the opposition goalkeeper with his right-footed shots.
Chiesa also scored the goal against Spain with a well-placed shot from outside the penalty box and would want to repeat that act against England. The 23-year old forward has definitely enhanced his reputation at Euro 2020.
However, if Italy go into the match with a defensive frame of mind, they might also decide to drop Immobile and play with a 4-5-1 formation with Insigne as the lone striker. In that case, Dominico Berardi would come in to play his part in the counter-attacks and would also do some defensive work.
