Euro 2020: How do Italy stop football from coming home?
The midfield
Tuesday was the first time we saw a wonderful Italian midfield a little flustered this summer. Spain had their number.
La Roja’s man-orientation perplexed Italy in possession, while the crafty movements of the Spanish triumvirate frequently outwitted their counterparts off the ball. It was a comprehensive Spanish victory in the middle of the park.
Qualitatively, England don’t compete with Spain in this area but their midfield two have certainly exceeded expectations this summer. Kalvin Phillips boasts a fine passing range and is a perennial ball-recover (he has the sixth-most recoveries at the tournament), while Declan Rice is an excellent defensive midfielder; instinctive and progressive when necessary. They’re a totally different proposition for Italy compared to Spain’s technical trio.
Still, you feel that this is an area where the Azzurri could have serious joy. Marco Verratti is yet to ignite this summer but remains one of Europe’s premier midfielders, while Nicolo Barella’s unique talent has been manifested in glimpses. Barella’s positioning, like Pedri’s in the left half-space last Tuesday, is set to force the English midfield into persistent positional dilemmas. I suspect that Rice will be tasked with tracking his surges in the right half-space.
The key here, however, is Jorginho. Following a tournament that has seen him earn genuine Ballon d’Or claims, Spain completely nullified him thanks to the persistence of man-marker Pedri out of possession. Gareth Southgate will likely hand Chelsea teammate Mason Mount a similar role and, given Mount’s defensive capacity, Jorginho could endure a similar outing to the semi-final.
Thus, once again, a greater onus will be placed on Verratti, the centre-backs and Mancini’s automatisms regarding ball-progression.
Italy will be tested by England’s press. The Three Lions press high in periods and they’ll be buoyed by a vociferous home crowd. They’re not relentless like the Spanish (tournament-low 8.1 PPDA), but press astutely and situationally to pretty good effect.
Italy’s build-up against the English press is an intriguing sub-plot.
The Harry Kane conundrum
Harry Kane’s started to look a little more like the elite forward he is ever since he found the net against Germany. He notched a brace in the last eight against Ukraine before scoring a fortuitous but memorable winner on Wednesday.
It was a gritty, street-wise Kane display in the semi-final; one laden with masterful foul-winning. He’s now in for a monster battle with Juventus veterans Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.
The success of the pair against Romelu Lukaku compared to their respective struggles dealing with the movement of false nine Dani Olmo means it’s pretty obvious what role Kane will look to play on Sunday. It’s somewhere between a number nine and ten, a nine-and-a-half if you will. Nevertheless, it’s a role he performed against Denmark and one he mastered for Tottenham last season.
The England skipper will look to disorientate Italy’s defensive structure akin to Olmo by dropping in and around Jorginho’s zone. I’m sure Southgate will use Mount as his Pedri to occupy Italy’s regista and create space for Kane. The Italy centre-backs, meanwhile, will have to decide whether to track the forward into deeper zones, something they didn’t do against Spain (see Alvaro Morata’s goal), or cover the inevitable streaks of Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka in behind.
Sterling, who’s enjoyed an incredible campaign, is excellent at covering the void left by Kane, exemplified by his goal against the Czech Republic and influence in Simon Kjaer’s own goal on Wednesday.