Italy vs England live .
For Italy, the stage is a familiar one. The Azzurri have played in seven finals at major tournaments since England’s last one in 1966. But although Gareth Southgate’s side may be in unchartered territory when compared to its opponent, it will be buoyed by the advantage of a home crowd at Wembley. According to the Stats Perform prediction model, it is Roberto Mancini’s team, which retains the best chance of lifting the trophy (currently rated at 60.1%).Stay tuned! The live coverage of the match begins on Monday, 12:30AM IST (GMT+5.5) Italy vs England, UEFA EURO 2020 Final LIVE Score Updates: ENG vs ITA prediction, buildup, lineups, team news, ITA vs ENG, Euro 2020 Final LIVE Updates: Presenting the live score, commentary and highlights from the UEFA European Championship title clash between England and Italy at the Wembley Stadium.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee - Bjorn Kuipers (NED); Assistant referees - Sander van Roekel (NED), Erwin Zeinstra (NED); Fourth official - Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP); Video Assistant Referee - Bastian Dankert (GER)
PREDICTED XI
ITALY: Gianluigi Donnarumma; Emerson Palmieri, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Jorginho, Manuel Locatelli, Nicolo Barella; Federico Chiesa, Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile
ENGLAND: Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw; Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling
FORM GUIDE
ITALY: W-W-W-W-W
ENGLAND: W-W-W-W-D
OPTA FACTS
● This is Italy’s 10th major tournament final (6 World Cup, 4 EURO), with only Germany (14) having played in more among European nations. Italy won the European Championship in 1968, but has lost its subsequent two final appearances in the competition (2000 and 2012).
● This will be England’s first ever appearance in a European Championship final, and its first in the final of a major tournament since winning the 1966 World Cup. It’s the longest gap between major finals (World Cup/EUROs) for any European nation (55 years).
● England is the 13th different nation to feature in a European Championship final (counting Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic as one) – just three of the previous 12 lost their first ever final in the competition: Yugoslavia (1960), Belgium (1980) and Portugal (2004).
● Italy has finished as runner-up of the European Championship on two occasions, losing to France in 2000 and Spain in 2012. Only Germany and USSR (3 each) have finished as runner-up more times than Italy in the competition.
● EURO 2020 will see England participate in the final while hosting the showpiece, the 11th instance of a European nation competing in a major tournament final as host (World Cup/EUROs). England also did so at the 1966 World Cup, beating Germany 4-2 at Wembley. Both of the last two European host nation finalist lost the final (Portugal at EURO 2004 and France at EURO 2016); only one of the first eight had lost its final prior to this (Sweden at the 1958 World Cup).
● Italy has never lost against England at a major tournament (W3 D1), winning 1-0 in EURO 1980, 2-1 at both the 1990 and 2014 World Cups, and drawing 0-0 before winning on penalties in EURO 2012.
● England has won just two of its last 14 meetings with Italy in all competitions (D5 L7), winning 2-0 in June 1997 and 2-1 in August 2013 – both in friendly matches. Indeed, England has won just one of its eight competitive meetings with Italy (D2 L5), 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in November 1977.
● This is the third major tournament (EURO/World Cup) final to be held at Wembley Stadium. The previous two were both won in extra time, with England beating Germany in the 1966 World Cup, and Germany beating Czech Republic in EURO 1996.
● Italy is unbeaten in its last 33 matches in all competitions (W27 D6), scoring 86 goals and conceding just 10 in this run. This is its longest unbeaten stretch of matches in history.
● England has won 15 of its last 17 matches at Wembley Stadium in all competitions (D1 L1), scoring 46 goals and conceding just five in this run.
● England is unbeaten in its last 12 matches in all competitions (W11 D1), keeping 10 clean sheets and conceding just two goals in the process. The Three Lions have conceded just one goal so far at EURO 2020, with four of the seven previous sides to concede just once in a European Championship tournament winning the trophy (Soviet Union 1960, Italy 1968, Germany 1972 and Spain 2012).
● England's 2-1 win over Denmark in the semifinal was its eighth win in a major tournament match (World Cup/EUROs) under Gareth Southgate, moving him level with Alf Ramsey for joint-most victories by an England manager across the two competitions.
● Italy has had 12 shots and scored three goals as a result of a high turnover (open play sequences beginning 40m or less from opponent’s goal line) at EURO 2020, more than any other side.
● Between them, England (2.2) and Italy (2.3) have faced fewer shots on target per game than any other sides at EURO 2020. England also has the lowest expected goals against tally in the competition so far (3.2).
● Harry Kane has been directly involved in 28 goals in his last 27 appearances for England in all competitions (19 goals, 9 assists). One more goal will see him become England’s outright highest goalscorer in major tournaments (World Cup/EUROs – currently 10, level with Gary Lineker).
● England’s Raheem Sterling has attempted (32) and completed (18) more take-ons than any other player at EURO 2020. Seven of these have been in the opposition penalty area (the joint-most), one of which led to England’s penalty against Denmark in the semifinal which led to its winning goal.
● Only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (15) has started more open play sequences ending in a shot than Italy’s Marco Verratti (9) so far at EURO 2020. On top of that, only Kevin De Bruyne (13) has created more chances at EURO 2020 than Verratti (12).
● Italy’s Roberto Mancini will be just the second manager to have won the English top-flight title to take charge of a European nation in a major tournament final (World Cup/EUROs), after Alf Ramsey who won the English top-flight title with Ipswich and the 1966 World Cup with England.
MATCH PREVIEW
For all the differences in style and approach, there is a remarkable symmetry to the journeys taken by England and Italy towards Sunday's Euro 2020 final. Both nations found themselves at historic low points with fans despairing at their decline and then discovered men who could bring change and quickly lead them on a path to success. For England, that nadir was elimination from Euro 2016 in the last 16 at the hands of Iceland while Italy's despair came two years later when the four-time world champion failed to even qualify for the World Cup in Russia. Gareth Southgate was not the man chosen to lead England's revival. The FA had selected Sam Allardyce for that role but when his reign was cut short by ill-judged comments to a hidden camera, the Under-21 coach was given the job. Southgate was able to draw on an exciting young generation of talent emerging from the Under-21 team and the academies of Premier League clubs but his most significant decision was to change the culture around the England team. He was able to make an England call-up something players looked forward to rather than, as was too often the case in the past, a chore to be feared or avoided. Southgate reset the often adversarial relationship with the media and also found a tone in his communications that found the perfect sweet spot between positivity and realism. With the pressure off, England reached the last four at the 2018 World Cup and then, with more talent integrated into the squad, it methodically progressed through Euro 2020, paying little attention to the constant reminders of failures past. Still, players in the squad who experienced the bitterness of failure and its fall-out know where they have come from. "If I think about the last Euros, when we got knocked out by Iceland, that still haunts me and I’d say that’s the lowest moment of my career by far," said right-back Kyle Walker. “But we’re a lot more mature now. A lot of us have played in more big games, we’ve won more and we can manage games better," he added.
'Different history'
Roberto Mancini had a different history to confront after Italy's dismal qualifying campaign for Russia under Gian Piero Ventura ended with the humiliation of a playoff loss to Sweden. Like Southgate, Mancini turned to youth, but his biggest impact has been on the style of football produced by the Azzurri. Italy uses a 4-3-3 formation, with two playmakers in midfield, usually Jorginho and Marco Verratti, supporting two wingers who like to cut inside and full-backs pushing forward to offer width. There has been a greater emphasis on aggressive pressing and the result has been one of the most enjoyable Italian teams to watch in years
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