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The month-long European Football Championship has reached its final straight. On Sunday, at 22:00 Lithuanian time, the tournament final will take place at the "Wembley" stadium, where we will witness a clash between two football nations - Italy and England. The portal Eurofootball.com invites you to take a closer look at the upcoming conclusion of the football celebration. Looking back, we can confidently say that both of these teams demonstrated some of the best football during EURO 2020. Italy was completely unstoppable in the group stage, but faced more challenges in the knockout stage, while the English team started the tournament with a slow start but played more confidently later on.
In the group stage, Italy won all three matches and faced Austria in the round of 16. There, Roberto Mancini's team had to go to extra time, but quickly gained a two-goal lead, and although Austria scored a consolation goal, it was Italy who advanced to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Italy faced a tough challenge against the FIFA-ranked leaders, Belgium. However, despite facing the "Red Devils," Italy looked very solid and celebrated a 2-1 victory. The semifinal match against Spain demanded the most nerves from the Italian team's fans, as it was the only match in which Italy did not have a clear gameplay advantage, and everything was decided in a penalty shootout, after which the team reached the EURO 2020 final.
In the group stage, England won two matches and unexpectedly drew with Scotland. However, even finishing at the top of the group did not prevent them from facing a tough opponent in the quarterfinals, where they met Germany. Scoring two goals at the end of the match, England dealt with their principled opponents and continued on the path to the final. In the quarterfinals, it was much easier - Gareth Southgate's team beat Ukraine 4-0.
In the semifinals, the "Three Lions" faced a tough test from neutral fans' hearts - Denmark. The Danes took the lead, but England quickly equalized, leading the action to extra time. There, everything was decided by a very questionable penalty kick awarded to Denmark, and that was the only stone thrown into England's garden, as the gameplay advantage of this team was more than evident. So, looking at the entire course of the tournament, it would be difficult to argue that in the final we will see the two best European teams at the moment.
Defense, defense, and defense. Before the final match, we already know one personal award winner, and that is Jordan Pickford, who kept his goal dry in five matches. Moreover, no team in the European Championship has ever started with five matches in which they did not concede a single goal. However, this fact should not mislead and create the impression that J. Pickford is a goalkeeper whom England's defenders can blindly trust. Even in this championship, the "Everton" goalkeeper had a few moments where his mistakes could have turned into goals against England. On the other hand, the English team found a working defensive quartet consisting of duos from two Manchester teams - Kyle Walker and John Stones from Manchester City, and Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw from Manchester United.
Italy's defense in this championship is also working excellently and has only conceded three goals so far. The duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci now looks like the best in Europe, and behind them stands the incredibly solid young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The performances of these teams in defense suggest that we should not expect a goal fest in the final.
Contenders for personal awards. If one personal award is already reserved, two questions remain open: who will be the best and top goal scorer of the tournament? In theory, both awards could be won by one person - Harry Kane. However, to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo, who has long left the tournament, Harry Kane needs at least two goals in the final to lead the list of top scorers. Considering Italy's potential in defense, the Portuguese star should be considered a favorite in the fight for the golden boot. Much more interesting is who can become the best player of the entire tournament. Following the logic that the player in the final will be the best player, there are several candidates to consider.
Although Leonardo Spinazzola will definitely not play in the final due to an injury sustained in the quarterfinals, this full-back was a true star of EURO 2020 until that fateful moment. Despite providing only one assist, the 28-year-old Italian's involvement in attacks became one of Roberto Mancini's team's main weapons, so his candidacy should definitely not be excluded from the list of nominees. In case of Italy's triumph, the candidacy of other defenders - L. Bonucci or G. Chiellini - could also be considered. The same goes for G. Donnarumma.
In this championship, the leader of the English team is Raheem Sterling, who has been solid since the group stage, where H. Kane struggled a bit. However, the candidacy of this forward should not be rejected either, as he took over the leadership role in the knockout stages.
Looking at the English defensive line, Luke Shaw stands out significantly. Some football experts consider him the best player of EURO 2020, and the full-back has already made three assists, and a successful performance in the final would further improve his chances.
Not daring to single out favorites. The fact that a clash of evenly matched teams is expected in the final is also evident from bookmakers' predictions, where almost absolute equality prevails. England are considered slight favorites to triumph in the final, but this can be explained by the fact that they will have the advantage of home turf, as the decisive EURO 2020 duel will take place at the "Wembley" stadium. By the way, the English team played all their matches here, except for the only quarterfinal match against Ukraine, which took place in Rome. In addition, bookmakers also do not expect a goal fest - it is expected that one single decisive strike from one of the teams will decide everything.
Prognosis from Eurofootball.com. It is clear that predicting something in these matches is practically impossible. However, based on the trends seen, we can expect a fairly pragmatic football from the English side, and we know that the Italians do not shy away from this either. It would not be surprising if the regulation time ended without goals, and everything went into an additional 30 minutes or penalty shootout. Nevertheless, looking at the teams' performances in the knockout stages, a slight advantage should be given to the English, who will have solid fan support behind them. Eurofootball.com Prediction: Italy 0:1 England.
