Euro 2020: How do Italy stop football from coming home?

England’s danger down the left

The Denmark clash was an anomaly in the sense that England’s primary threat came down the right, especially later on in proceedings when Sterling switched over to that flank.

Throughout the tournament, England’s dynamic down the left has been a constant threat. Luke Shaw and Sterling, who’ll start off the left, have developed a wonderful understanding and we saw their effectiveness as a tandem in the 4-0 rout of Ukraine.

Number ten Mount will drift over to the left in a bid to overload that flank as well, while x-factor Jack Grealish is a player Roberto Mancini will undoubtedly prepare for, even if he’s destined to start on the bench.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo is set to have his work cut out, but the Napoli man’s enjoyed a fine tournament up to this point, notching 11 combined tackles and interceptions. However, his struggles against speedsters were manifested against Jeremy Doku.

Nevertheless, the key for Mancini in this regard is nullifying Shaw. Martin Braithwaite did a fine job in pinning and tracking the Manchester United man, and I have no doubts it’ll be Chiesa’s task to track the left-back’s surges on Sunday. It’s a job the 23-year-old will do willingly.

Finally, Italy also have to be wary of the runs of Sterling and Mount in behind when Shaw receives possession in deeper areas. It’s a ploy that’s worked for England several times this tournament.

Protect Emerson

Italy’s 4-3-3 shape morphs into a 2-3-5/3-2-5 in possession to facilitate the advancement of their left-back. It’s a role Leonardo Spinazzola played to perfection but one that Emerson will likely play in the final following Spinazzola’s Achilles rupture in the quarter-final against Belgium.

There are certainly concerns regarding Emerson, who’s barely played any football for the past 18 months, but he played well against Spain; offering a threat in behind while defending calmly. He’s expected to retain his place in the XI, although there are alternatives for Mancini: Alessandro Bastoni being one, utilising Di Lorenzo on the opposite flank being the other. For the sake of retaining Italy’s successful attacking dynamics, however, Emerson has to play.

As I indirectly noted earlier, England aren’t as potent down the right due to Kyle Walker’s reluctance to overlap and are instead more reliant on one-v-one magic down that flank. Saka will line up against Emerson on Sunday, and the Chelsea left-back will need protection against the exuberant teenager.

He’s a sub-par one-v-one defender and I’m sure England will look to isolate Saka against his man. Insigne’s a less willing tracker than Chiesa, so Emerson’s support will have to arrive from either Chiellini or Verratti.

Mancini can’t allow Southgate and England to have their way with Italy’s ‘weak link’, who’ll also surrender plenty of space in behind considering the attack-minded role he performs.

Unleash Chiesa

As an Englishman writing this, it’s not Insigne, Ciro Immobile, the midfield or the psychopathic Chiellini who frighten me. It’s Chiesa.

While others have had stellar tournaments, he’s the Azzurri’s match-winner and he seems to have taken a liking to Wembley. Both of his goals at the tournament have come under the famous arch.

A lot depends on the game-state, but I suspect Italy won’t be as reliant, or at least won’t be as quick to resort to, the counter-attack this time around. England won’t be able to sustain pressure and force Italy back as Spain did for large swathes of the semi-final. If they do, it’ll be for brief periods.

The Azzurri are expected to see plenty off the ball, so how can they unleash Chiesa?

The Juve star will match up against the quick-turning Shaw and although I’ll back Chiesa to beat anybody in a running race, Shaw will certainly hold his own. Nevertheless, an area where I think Italy could have some joy is in the build-up phase down the right. Denmark had success against Shaw in this regard on Wednesday with the United full-back caught in no-mans-land in a couple of pressing sequences. He wasn’t sure whether to engage the wing-back or track Braithwaite, so instead did neither.

Shaw’s indecision was costly in the first half. On Sunday, he has to be aggressive if England are to suffocate Italy in their own half otherwise Di Lorenzo, Barella and Chiesa could combine to deadly effect. Nevertheless, I’m sure Mancini will welcome Shaw’s aggression so he can have Chiesa running at the excellent but slow-turning Harry Maguire in space.

So, efficient build-up play is key for the Azzurri in unleashing Chiesa. England, however, will be wary of the 23-year-old’s capacity to create something from nothing.