La Nazionale against the Three Lions. Euro football has delivered its verdict and it is therefore Italy and England who will face each other on Sunday (9 p.m.) in London in the final of the tournament. A dream poster between two sacred football monsters who had not shone for some time, if not a very long time, in an international competition.
On the one hand, the English who hold the final they dreamed of at home. The British qualified by beating valiant Denmark (2-1, after extra time) in a molten Wembley stadium. England can dream of a new trophy, 55 years after the last one, obtained at the World Cup in 1966.
And the selection of the Rose will have a considerable advantage against Italy: a stadium won for its cause, more than 60,000 enthusiastic spectators, probably “largest crowd gathered for a sporting event for over 15 months in the UK“, as the British government promised in recent days.
The Italians in reconquest
But beware of the Italians who will play their fourth major competition final since 2000. It will mainly be a reconquest for the Azzuri, three years after their non-qualification for the 2018 World Cup, experienced as a real disaster in the country of Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne. Straightened by coach Roberto Mancini, the Italians dream of a feat similar to that of the Portuguese at Euro 2016, they who had shattered the hopes of France, the host country.
The game should be tough and tense. England have conceded only one goal in the tournament and the depth of their attack is enough to make the whole of Europe pale, between the elusive Raheem Sterling, youngsters Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden, leaders Mason Mount and Jack Grealish, wingers Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, and of course goalscorer Harry Kane.
–
