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Roberto Mancini and Gareth Southgate prepare to face off at Wembley, having skilfully navigated their way through the pitfalls of the previous rounds. Both sides have shown adaptability and resilience that saw many early tournament favourites fall at the first hurdles.
Through a combination of skill and tenacity, Mancini and Southgate have harnessed an internal culture that has reinstated pride in their respective countries. It has to be also said that both managers have adopted a new approach.
Mancini has injected fun back into the national game without conceding any of the traditional qualities on and off the ball.
Southgate is very much the spearhead of a ‘new’ England, and the national team is now reaping the benefits of an academy system developed in line with the success of the Premier League and the benefits of attracting the world’s best players to ply their trade in England.
Whist this English side may not have some of the superstars enjoyed in the past, David Beckham, Paul Scholes or Wayne Rooney, Southgate’s England are collectively the best technical side the country has ever produced.
Tomorrow’s final promises to be a fascinating encounter, whether that be for the purists or die-hard supporters, and so it is only fair that we take a look at some of the key areas where the game may well be won or lost.
Midfield battleground
Luis Enrique’s refusal to get sucked into a toe to toe battle with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci was a masterstroke to put the brakes firmly on Italy’s momentum. His decision to drop Alvaro Morata and play with a false nine caused Roberto Mancini a huge headache and will have offered plenty of food for thought to Gareth Southgate; a man prepared to put the team before individuals and ignore clamour from the media or indeed the public.
The presence of an extra man in midfield certainly disrupted Italy’s passing rhythm. The Azzurri’s pass completion rate was at its least effective since kicking off against Turkey a month ago, with Jorginho (79%), Nicolo Barella (68%) and Marco Verratti (77%) all some way down on their previous untouchable tournament statistics.
Beating them at their own game in terms of press and quality on the ball, only Spain’s lack of cutting edge had kept the scores level at full-time. Barella, in particular, had a frustrating evening, and with Ciro Immobile once more ineffective up top, Italy may need to find another way of breaking through the fairly impenetrable English defence, who are yet to concede from open play.
With Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice the main anchors of the English midfield, it will be the crucial battleground for the game to be won.
England yet to be truly tested?
If the Italians can press as they did against the Belgians, England will be faced with a new challenge to overcome.
With Ukraine posing little threat in their quarter-final tie, the Three Lions are yet to be fully tested in the tournament so far. Whilst Denmark had done incredibly well to progress into the semi-finals, it was evident that the emotional wave which they were riding upon was starting to temper out.
An hour into their semi-final against England at Wembley, the Danes began to wilt dramatically, using all of their substitutes as England managed the game with relative ease.
If Mancini can get his press further up the pitch, he might expose some chinks in the English armoury. For all England’s technical ability, it may well be a case of Who Dares Wins for Mancini to take the game to England. The Azurri reduced top-ranked Belgium to spectators for large parts of their 2-1 quarter-final win and they will need a similar level of performance on Sunday evening.
Tournament fatigue
Italy’s start to the final could be crucial. Without Leonardo Spinazolla’s energy, they looked a shadow of themselves as Spain’s passing had grounded them down in Tuesday’s semi-final. Showing signs that the demands of tournament football were beginning to catch up with them, the Italians were running on empty by extra-time.
The motivation of winning a major international tournament should provide the extra tonic required. Still, the longer the game goes on, England may well fancy their chances as their energy levels seemed to get stronger on Wednesday evening.
The loss of Leonardo Spinazzola
Despite the loss of Spinazzola, Emerson had an encouraging performance as he attempted to fill the enormous boots of the Roma full-back. Arguably carrying Italy’s biggest threat up until the break against the Spanish, the marauding runs that we’ve come accustomed to throughout the tournament picked up where they left off against Belgium.
On three first-half occasions, the Chelsea full-back burst through the Spanish lines and came closest to breaking the deadlock with a shot from an acute angle that clipped the top of the bar.
However, as the game wore on and Spain pinned Italy back, Emerson faded. His opportunities to support Lorenzo Insigne became more and more limited. Insigne, one of the tournament stars, has lost his wingman in Spinazzola, and his influence had been blighted, such was their almost telepathic understanding.
Southgate will know the importance of that relationship along the Italian left, and as we have seen so far in this tournament, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him tweak his set-up once more to nullify that potential threat.
Lack of penetration
Immobile’s performances have come under greater scrutiny in recent games, having failed to build on his two tournament goals in the group stages.
He will need to do much more than he offered in midweek to cause England problems, but his work rate for the national side shouldn’t be under-estimated.
Whilst Andrea Belotti would certainly present a more physical match for England’s backline, Immobile’s energy to lead the Italian press could continue to be decisive in Mancini’s thinking. Italy’s ex-national coach, Antonio Conte, came out in support of the striker in midweek, unconvinced that there is a better alternative.
“I don’t agree with the criticism of Immobile, he does a dirty job, he always disturbs the two-opposing centre-backs, he attacks space.
“Apart from the goals, his teammates exploit his work. The idea of a false nine for Italy doesn’t seem appropriate to me.
“Insigne doesn’t have those characteristics, he would be distorted. And we would find ourselves with few references in the opponent’s area.”
Harry Kane revitalised
With Harry Kane’s transformation in the tournament, having scored against Germany in the Round of 16, Italy will have to think hard about how they tackle England’s captain and talisman.
With any lingering doubts banished about his form, Kane will have his sights set on trying to finish as the tournament’s top scorer and will present both Bonucci and Chiellini with some thinking to do. As a target man, the Italian pair will not be intimidated by the task and Kane’s ability to win cheap free kicks may not be as achievable up against the experienced centre-back partnership.
“I was lucky enough to play against him (in a game against Tottenham). He knows how to play deep and how to play a defence-splitting pass for a teammate. He scores with his head and from long and close range.” – Giorgio Chiellini
What may cause a bigger issue is Kane’s influence as a key contributor to goals. With 17 assists to his name last season for Tottenham, the forward coming deeper to receive the ball has really started to pay dividends for England as his confidence has risen. His range of passing to get the likes of Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka in between the lines will be of concern to Mancini.
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Donarrumma has undoubtedly been one of the tournament stars. It fitted that he enjoyed his moment in the sun on Tuesday evening as he more than played his part in the penalty shootout to get Italy over the line.
Like Kasper Schmeichel in midweek, England will have to get past one of the top goalkeepers in world football. However, for the first time in the tournament, Donarrumma was uncharacteristically sloppy with his distribution in the first-half, a sign that the young goalkeeper can become frustrated if Italy are struggling to get a foothold in the game. Despite those early wobbles, Italy’s shot-stopper became one of the Azzurri’s stand out performers on the evening.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, enjoying a very focussed tournament, might be targeted for additional Italian pressure.
A key tactic from Denmark was to swarm the opposition six-yard box on set plays but given some sloppy distribution in his past two games, Italy’s midfield should be alert for any generosity from England’s goalkeeper. In international football, individual errors have hampered Southgate’s side when it has mattered most, and Pickford will be one for the Italians to ruffle.
Gamesmanship
On the ropes for the first time in the tournament, the Italian know-how to win when the odds were stacked against them shone through emphatically during the penalty shootout.
Having earned themselves the opportunity through sheer will and determination in extra-time, the change in mindset at full-time put Italy into pole position. The Spanish had missed their chance, and nobody more than Chiellini embraced the moment. The pressure was all on Spain, and it was much to Jordi Alba’s annoyance as he tried to brush aside Chiellini’s playful antics.
Although Manuel Locatelli missed the first penalty, their penalties went from strength to strength which culminated in Jorginho’s cool as a cucumber decisive last attempt to book a place in the finals.
Home support
It’s fairly inevitable that within any major tournament, the host country tends to do well, buoyed on by an expectant crowd. Whilst Euro 2020 was meant to be played across Europe; the pandemic has played a little into England’s hands as they have progressed through the rounds.
However, the facts remain that the English have had to stay in the competition to enjoy that benefit. There is no doubt that the support against Germany and against Denmark has had a significant impact.
Despite being at 75% stadium capacity, the sheer release of 60,000 English men and women’s frustration of having being cooped up for 18 months should not be underestimated. Those extra decibel levels will have boosted the players and, of course, a new novelty factor for them, having adapted to behind-closed-doors football.
“We have won nothing yet; we will have to win on Sunday to consider it a success. England will have an entire stadium behind them. It will be on us to put them under pressure. A final is a bit different from other games, we will have to play with focus but also with joy because you can only win a final if you take pitch to have fun.” – Roberto Mancini
In their first final for over 50 years, the English will carry that weight of national expectation on Sunday, which the Italians will need to work very hard on to quell. As a result, Mancini’s men will approach this game as slight underdogs and mentally, that could be significant.
What remains to be said is that the football world has waited patiently for the gloom to be lifted given the past year. Euro 2020 has not disappointed and has been a resounding success given that we aren’t yet back to normality.
It’s fitting that the tournament’s best sides have made it to the final and would be just as fitting to be treated to a classic encounter in every sense. The Italian gladiators pitted against the knights of England to revive their respective national fortunes? The stakes couldn’t be lifted any higher.
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