Euro 2020: How do Italy stop football from coming home?
Following a month of thrilling international football, still, one question remains: Is football coming home or Rhome?
It’s a question that’ll be answered in the most dramatic of fashions – hopefully – when England meet Italy in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday night.
Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri have emerged as the neutral’s favourite this summer, playing a brand of football that distinctly contrasts Italy sides of yesteryear. Nevertheless, after a perfect group stage, some cracks have started to emerge in the knockout phase with a superb victory over Belgium in the last eight sandwiched between unconvincing victories over Austria and Spain.
They’re still standing, however, and are many people’s favourites to take home the title on Sunday against a nation looking to end 55 painfully long years of hurt.
England’s tournament will be forever etched in the memories of its raucous supporters no matter the outcome this weekend. The triumphs over Germany and Denmark were two of the most significant in this proud footballing nation’s history.
Sunday should be a belter, and here are some keys to victory for both sides.
Expected Italy XI: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Cheillini, Emerson; Jorginho, Verratti, Barella; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne.
Expected England XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Phillips; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane.
Press, press, press
Sophisticated pressing structures are uncommon on the international scene due to the limited time managers spend with their players. Nevertheless, we’ve seen some impressive pressing sides emerge at this tournament and two of them will be competing in Sunday’s final.
Neither are relentless high-pressers of the ball, but both attempt to regain possession with distinct shrewdness. Italy, in particular, have been effective pressers this summer. Their 51 ‘High Turnovers’, defined as the number of sequences that start in open play and begin 40m or less from the opponent’s goal, ranks fourth among teams at the tournament, but their 14.9 passes per defensive action (13th lowest – lower indicates a higher level of pressing) highlight Italy’s non-relentlessness.
Italy’s man-orientation has proved successful against both three and four-man defences at the tournament thus far, but the Azzurri’s out of possession intensity was comfortably mitigated by a technically supreme Spain in the semi-final.
Mancini won’t be disheartened, however, and I’m sure he’ll look to suffocate the English defence high up the field on Sunday. While England are blessed with immense quality, they’re not quite as technically gifted as Spain, especially in defence. John Stones and Harry Maguire are both fine ball-players, but they’re not quite Eric Garcia and Aymeric Laporte, who played superbly in the face of pressure against Italy and were a major factor in Spain’s dominance.
England can be got at in the first phase. Denmark pressed with remarkable coordination in the opening period of Wednesday’s semi-final, taming the Three Lions after a frantic start. Their press was key to Denmark enjoying their most dominant period of the game that culminated in Mikkel Damsgaard’s wonderful opener. The midfield pivot of Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg and Thomas Delaney was imperative to stifling England through the centre, taking us on to point number two.