Italy's goal at Wembley in 1973 (Ansa)
The final is Italy-England, the Three Lions beat Denmark
The blue dream continues, Italy in the final at the Europeans
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08 July 2021 The malicious recall that it took a ghost goal from Hurst to certify the only English title, the 1966 World Cup at Wembley, which away from home have never done anything and that this time the final came with Sterling's dive ( who recalled those in Italy of Luciano Chiarugi) who procured a penalty in extra time by burying the excellent Denmark. But it would be misleading to think their arrival in the final is accidental because Southgate is building a national team of great depth, with a generation of champions just waiting for the leap in quality. It is the best possible final because Italy has deserved and at Wembley on Sunday the British will try to fill a gap that has been dragging on for decades (the last success in important competitions dates back to 44 years ago).
It is a heartfelt but not coarse rivalry that divides the two nations. When the masters of football came down from the pedestal and began to confront the rest of the world, they found the Italy of Pozzo world champion and in the collective memory the memory of 1934 with the 'Highbury lions' that oppose the domination of the English and leave the field in ten, defeated but with choral applause for a comeback that remained famous. And Mancini needs the Azzurri to rediscover the spirit of Highbury at Wembley on Sunday because it will be a spectacular battle, with the English people feeling the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to return to the center of the ball.
With England there is an ancient rivalry that sees the blues in the lead (ten wins against eight and nine draws) and the whites winners in only two of the 12 games in the last 40 years. Like 40 years of unsuccessful attempts it took for the first Italian success of 1973. From Piola to Meazza, from Mortensen to Hitchens, from Capello to Zola, the ball tells 88 years of challenges and feats, of cunning and comebacks that begin when the masters football players abandon their isolation to cross gloves with world champions. The prologue is even earlier: in 1933 Mussolini attends the 1-1 in Rome, a 'philosophical' challenge Method against System, but history is made in November 1934: the 'Highbury lions' resist with Monti fractured (after a penalty saved at the start of Combi and a deadly 3-0 in 12 '),they recover with a brace from Meazza and reach 3-3 in a legendary match. The 2-2 of 1939 in Milan also enters the annals with Piola's goal, 47 years before Maradona's Mano de Dios, again for the English. But the revenge is lurking and ripens in May 1948: Pozzo is running out and the Grande Torino in blue (a year before Superga) clamorously at his house; England dominated 4-0 inflicting a historic blow in Turin, the myth of the goal 'a la Mortensen' was born with the prowess of the goal from the field that mocked Bacigalupo.Pozzo is running out and the Grande Torino in blue (a year before Superga) clamorously at his home; England dominated 4-0 inflicting a historic blow in Turin, the myth of the goal 'a la Mortensen' was born with the prowess of the goal from the field that mocked Bacigalupo.Pozzo is running out and the Grande Torino in blue (a year before Superga) clamorously at his home; England dominated 4-0 inflicting a historic blow in Turin, the myth of the goal 'a la Mortensen' was born with the prowess of the goal from the field that mocked Bacigalupo.
Then it is the story of comebacks: Mariani and Brighenti save the Azzurri for the 2-2 in 1959 while in 1961 in Rome the English pass from 1-2 to 3-2 with a brace from Hitchens and a paw from Greaves, immediately imported from Inter and Milan. On the ninth attempt in 40 years, here is the first Italian victory, 2-0 with Anastasi and Capello, in Turin in 1973. Six months later it takes on the contours of triumph, 1-0 at Wembley with a crazy descent by Chinaglia, after a textbook bolt, and Capello's advance on Shilton. The external taboo is also broken and always starring Don Fabio. Then, after a 2-3 knockout with Graziani's useless double advantage, Bearzot's Italy eliminated the English from the 1978 World Cup: 2-0 in Rome with Bettega's head seal, and useless opponent success in the second leg, in 1977, which, however, remains thelast Englishman in important competitions.
The British undergo a long twilight and Italy wins with Tardelli at the 1980 Europeans and then the final in Bari of the 1990 World Cup of Magic Nights: 2-1 signed by Baggio and Schillaci. Revenge is around the corner and tastes like mockery: Zola, idol of Stamford Bridge, signs the victory at Wembley but the subsequent 0-0 in Rome qualifies the English for the 1998 World Cup. Italy must sweat their place by playing off with Russia in Buffon's debut. The rest is the story of the new millennium: two Italian victories, 1-0 with Gattuso and 2-1 outside with a brace from Montella in the Trapattoni-Eriksson match. At the 2012 Europeans, Italy passes to penalties on Ashley Cole's mistake and seal of Diamonds and therefore England collects a new disappointment. Then painless English victory in August with Prandelli's experimental Italy,but the situation changes when the match counts: Italy wins 2-1 in the world debut in Manaus, but then both are eliminated. The last matches are two 1-1 in a friendly. The first in Turin on the road of the Europeans in France in which Conte goes further than Hodgson; the second at Wembley two months before the advent of Mancini, with Southgate already on the English one. But Sunday will be a completely different story.