England vs Italy - 5 interesting facts | UEFA Euro 2020 Final

Bhargav
England players rejoice after their UEFA Euro 2020 semi-final win over Denmark.
England players rejoice after their UEFA Euro 2020 semi-final win over Denmark.

#3 Only three teams have ever won the Euros on home soil

France (1984) are the last hosts to win the Euros on home soil.
France (1984) are the last hosts to win the Euros on home soil.

The European Championship has not been won by the host team in almost four decades, so England will have the odds stacked against them on Sunday.

In fact, only six host nations have ever reached the Euro final, with the last two - France (2016) and Portugal (2004) - falling short in the title match. Euro 2020 has been played all over Europe, but with England making the Wembley final, the Three Lions are considered the hosts for the game.

Spain (who Soviet Union 2-1) in 1964, Italy (who beat Yugoslavia 2-0) in 1968 and France (who beat Spain 2-0) in 1984 are the only teams to have won the Euros on home soil.

Euro 2004 hosts, Portugal, fell to surprise winners Greece in the final that year. Twelve years later, the same misfortune befell France when Portugal won by a solitary goal after extra time.

Buoyed by the fact that they have never lost a major final on home soil (they beat West Germany 4-2 in the 1966 FIFA World Cup), England will be keen to buck the trend.


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

Italy players rejoice following their penalty-shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2020 semi-final.
Italy players rejoice following their penalty-shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2020 semi-final.

Italy have been a force to be reckoned with at Euro 2020, entering the tournament as dark horses and quickly becoming one of the favourites to go all the way.

The Azzurri are unbeaten in 33 games in over three years since a defeat to Portugal in the Nations League in 2018. It is Italy's longest unbeaten run in all competitions, beating their previous best of 30 (1935 to 1939).

The penalty-shootout win over Spain has propelled Italy to their fourth European Championship final, their first in nine years. If the Azzurri emerge victorious, it will be their second title in the competition and their first since 1968.

That would break the previous record of 44 years (Spain - 1964, 2008) between successive triumphs by a team in the competition. In the process, Italy will also emulate Spain (3), Germany (3) and France (2) as the only teams to win multiple European Championships.


#1 England could become the 11th different team to win the Euros

England vs Denmark - UEFA Euro 2020: Semi-final
England vs Denmark - UEFA Euro 2020: Semi-final

After coming behind to defeat high-flying Denmark in the semi-final, England have become the 13th different team to reach the title match at the European Championship.

If they can continue their proud record of never losing a major final on home soil, the Three Lions will become the 11th different team to triumph at the competition. However, for that to happen, Gareth Southgate's men will have to notch up their first competitive win over Italy in 44 years - an onerous task but not beyond England.

The Three Lions have played five of their six Euro 2020 games at home, conceding just once. This might augur well for their hopes of toppling Roberto Mancini's men on Sunday in another 'home' game.

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