England meets Italy.. and seeks its European revenge
England are seeking to avenge their Italian counterpart, who suffered a painful loss in the European Cup final last summer, when they receive them at Molino Stadium on Saturday in the third round of Group C of the European Football Championship.
The match will be held behind closed doors in front of the fans after the riots that accompanied the final of the continental championship at Wembley Stadium in London last summer and ended with the victory of “Azzurri” with a penalty shootout scenario over the hosts 3-2 after a 1-1 draw in normal and overtime.
The balance tilted in favor of Italy in 28 matches with England, where they won 12 to 8 defeats and the same number of draws.
The last loss of the four-time world champion against the "Three Lions" is also due to his 1-2 loss in a friendly in Switzerland in August 2012. Italy achieved its last victory over its opponent in 90 minutes during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in the opening match of Group D, with a score of 2-1.
The "Three Lions" team is engaged in the awaited confrontation not only to avenge a rival who destroyed his continental dreams, but also to achieve his first victory in the third edition of the European Nations League, after he started his career with a resounding loss against Hungary 0-1, before snatching a fatal equalizer with a penalty kick from Captain Harry Kane in front of Germany 1-1, to bottom the standings of his group with an orphan point.
Despite his humble beginnings, coach Gareth Southgate has proven that he is the right man in the right place. Since taking over the technical duties with the 1966 world champion, he led him to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia 2018 and to the final of the European Nations last year.
For its part, Italy hopes to regain its luster after its decline in its level after winning the continental title, as it failed to reach the World Cup finals for the second time in a row and lost the “Finalisima” match that it collected against Argentina, the Copa America champion, 0-3.
However, "Atzuri" appeared in a different way in the Nations League, as it is at the top of the "Group of Death" with 4 points, after its 1-1 draw with Germany and its 2-1 victory over Hungary.
Roberto Mancini injected new blood into the national team by replacing the veteran players with other young ones. Defender Leonardo Bonucci (35) and striker Andrea Belotti (28) did not participate in the starting lineup on Thursday.
The attacking line poses a dilemma for the Italian coach. After he decided not to call up Ciro Immobile, 32, the top scorer in the Italian league four times, the trio of Belotti, Gianluca Scamaca and Jacomo Rasbadori were unable to hit the net in the previous three matches.
Mancini decided not to call up Marco Verratti, Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri and Lorenzo Insigne earlier this month for rest.
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