5 milestones awaiting Italy in the Euro 2020 final

Bhargav
Italy beat Spain in a penalty shootout to reach the Euro 2020 final.
Italy beat Spain in a penalty shootout to reach the Euro 2020 final.

#3 Italy could become the first team to beat England in a major final

Italy will take on England in the Euro 2020 final.
Italy will take on England in the Euro 2020 final.

Arguably the tournament's two best teams - England and Italy - will lock horns in the final on Sunday to bring an enthralling Euro 2020 tournament to a close.

The last two hosts to have reached the European Championship final - France (2016) and Portugal (2004) - faltered at the final hurdle. However, England will be buoyed by the fact that they have never lost a major final at home.

The Three Lions beat old foes Germany 4-2 after extra time at Wembley in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final to win their only major title to date. However, if the Azzurri beat Gareth Southgate's team on Sunday, they will become the first team to defeat the Three Lions in a major final.


#2 Become only the fourth team to win multiple European Championships

Italy
Italy

By beating Spain on penalties, Italy have reached their fourth European Championship final.

Following defeats in their last two such games - Euro 2012 against Spain and Euro 2000 against France - victory against England will make Italy only the fourth team to win multiple European Championships.

To date, only Spain (3), Germany (3) and France (2) have triumphed multiple times at the Euros.


#1 Italy could create a new record for the longest gap between successive European Championship triumphs

Italy last won the European Championship in 1968.
Italy last won the European Championship in 1968.

Italy are one of ten different teams to have won the European Championship. However, their last triumph came more than five decades ago, in 1968. Since then, the Azzurri have fallen 2-1 to France and 0-4 to Spain in summit clashes in 2000 and 2012, respectively.

A win on Sunday would be Italy's first title at the Euros in 53 years, which will be a new record for the gap between successive triumphs at the tournament. The current record belongs to Spain who won Euro 2008, which was 44 years after their first European Championship triumph in 1964.

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Edited by Anantaajith Raghuraman