Fifty matches, 140 goals, eleven venues and eleven countries. And an event format current UEFA president Aleksandar Cerefin says is too troubling and won’t happen again. I didn’t have a problem with it. Despite it, now the field is narrowed down to the two for the Cup: Italy and England. For Italy, this will be their fourth time playing for the Cup. Their one win came in 1968 and it came after two hugely controversial semifinals. For England, this is their first time ever qualifying for the final! Yes, I find it hard to believe too. Ever since 1996, they’ve been singing ‘It’s Coming Home’ in hopes they win whatever big trophy they’re chasing and now is more chance than ever! For this, I will do my review of Italy vs. England and make my prediction.
Head-To-Head Stats:
Italy vs. England isn’t normally one of the bigger rivalries in football. Italy’s more legendary rivalries are with Germany, Brazil, eastern neighbors Croatia, Spain and France in recent years. England has bigger rivalries with Germany, Argentina and northern neighbors Scotland. Italy and England have played each other 27 times. Italy has won ten times while England has won eight. The last time Italy played England, it was a March 2018 friendly and it ended in a 1-1 draw.
Team Breakdown:
ITALY: It’s hard to believe a team with one of the biggest football legacies of four World Cups has only won a single Euro. It was all the way back in 1968, and after both semifinals consisted of major controversies. In fact Italy’s case was they played a scoreless draw against the Soviet and there wasn’t a penalty kick system like we have now. So a coin-toss was used to decide Italy’s win! Since 1968, they have made it to the final twice: in 2000 and 2012. The Forza Azzurri have always been one of the most dazzling teams in the world, but they can also end up being one of the most unpredictable teams too. There have been many times in tournaments when even if they didn’t win, they would go further than expected. However there are times when Italy has delivered below pre-event expectations. That has especially been the case after they won the World Cup in 2006. However it was right after their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup that it was aware there had to be changes not only in the team, but the Italian football system.
Since their World Cup failure, they have a new head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina and a new coach in Roberto Mancini. Ever since Mancini took hold of the Italian team, the Azzurri have only lost two games with the last loss being in September 2018. They capped hugely successful, 2019 with straight wins. 2021 was also hugely successful with straight wins until the Euro semifinal where they drew 1-1 against Spain. Their win on penalty kicks is a victory for them as Italy is one of the weaker teams at penalty kick rounds. Italy came to this Euro with a lot to prove and prove they did. The final is another opportunity for them to prove themselves. They showed they can score well and that they have good defense. However even coach Mancini admits that England is a stronger team. He even warned his team to be cautious of players like Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. That could be their one glitch as they may not be able to fend off England’s star strikers. Another is Emerson Palmieri as the replacement goalkeeper. He plays in the Premier League with Chelsea and some England players may be familiar with his weaknesses. Nevertheless, Italy can rise to the challenge and possibly win their second Euro over in Wembley Stadium.
ENGLAND: Hard to believe this is the first-ever Euro final England has made it to! It’s just as surprising as their one World Cup, which was won in 1966 in old Wembley Stadium. Euro 2020 would be poetic if they won their first Euro in the new Wembley Stadium. Yes, it does seem like England’s win of the 1966 World Cup has made them a one-hit-wonder in football. England has almost always fielded the national team with the most talent and the most skill combined. However its inability to go far on the international stage has almost always seems to be the team not being able to come together and play as a team unit. That often seems to be the case. Ever since their World Cup win, the best England has done at the World Cup was two fourth places. Also the best they ever did at Euro was a third place.
2016 appears to be the turning point. This was after England came off possibly its most dreadful performance as a national team with Roy Hodgson. It involved an out in the Group Stage at World Cup 2014 and an out in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016. After Euro 2016, the English team hired Gareth Southgate as the manager. A former national team player himself, Southgate was coach of the national under-21 team at the time. It turned out to be the best move for England. Southgate’s England squad made it to the semifinals of World Cup 2018: the first time since 1990 and only the third time even England make the Top 4 at the World Cup.
Then Euro came. The current English team consists of some of the best veterans and many top rising talents. All but three play for Premier League teams with one playing for Atletico Madrid and two playing for Germany’s Bundesliga teams. England and Southgate had a lot to prove to the eyes of the world here at the Euro 2020 and boy have they been proving it. It the Group Stage, their only non-win was a scoreless draw against Scotland, but their other two matches were wins of 1-0. In the Round of 16, they beat their common rival Germany 2-0. They would show dominance in their quarterfinal against Ukraine by winning 4-0. The semifinal was the first Euro 2020 where England conceded a single goal. Despite it, England was able to recover and win the semi 2-1 in added extra time to qualify for their first-ever Euro final!
England overcame a lot of ‘team demons’ in order to get where they are now. Back at the 2018 World Cup, they won their Round of 16 game against Colombia on penalty kicks. That was the first time ever in four tries that England won a World Cup match on penalty kicks. Even here in Euro 2020, winning over Germany, a team they commonly lose to in major tournaments, shows how much team chemistry between England has improved over Southgate. However England does have their imperfections. You can look at their semifinal win, for starter. The controversy of a fan flashing a laser pointer to the eyes of Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as Harry Kane was about to make his penalty kick has given their win a tarnish. The English team has been fined by UEFA for this. Another case, as far as play goes, is that Italy has been noticed to have better midfielders than England. That could hurt England during some key moments. Whatever the situation, Wembley Stadium tonight is their chance to tell the world ‘It’s Coming Home’ instead of ‘It’s Coming To Rome.’
My Final Verdict:
This is a tough call and this is a game that could end up as a draw even at the end of added extra time. However I feel I will have to predict England to win this 2-1.
And there you go! That is my focus on the Euro 2020 final and my prediction. You can bet there will be a ton of excitement over in Wembley Stadium and lots to look forward to. Can excitement and national pride repeat itself 55 years later? Only time will tell!
Jon The Blogcentric 