Original title: European Cup on the 12th to welcome the final matchup, Italy and England who is more champion-like?
Final preview
According to Beijing Youth Daily, at 3 o’clock in the morning on the 12th, Beijing time, the four-year European Cup feast is about to usher in its pinnacle. Italy and England, the two traditional giants that have a certain desire to win before the game, will finally meet. The English can make football really “go home” after 55 years? Or can the Italian win the Delaunay Cup for the second time in team history? The new Wembley Stadium in London will witness the king’s enthronement.
The Italian team prepares for training, player Barrera is in trainingEnter the 21st century
“Gifts duel” has become the norm in the finals
Since the first European Cup was held in 1960, this prestigious event in Europe and the world has gone through more than half a century, and the participating teams have also “expanded” to 24 teams in the last session. Although some analysts were worried about whether the increase in the number of teams would make many games dispensable, but judging from the overall performance of the two tournaments, the addition of some so-called marginal teams did not. It has reduced the excitement of the European Cup and spawned some unpopular appearances, making the game more enjoyable.
In the knockout stage, the performance of the traditional giants was more stable. They relied on their outstanding strength and excellent psychological quality to reach the final stage step by step. In this competition, England and Italy are undoubtedly the representatives, and the two giants will eventually meet in the final, also continuing a tradition of the European Cup.
Since entering the 21st century, the European Cup has been successfully held for 4 times. Except for the sudden emergence of Greece into the finals in 2004 and finally won the championship to create a miracle, the final teams of the other three major competitions are all giants, such as the 2000 final. Italy and France launched a desperate duel. In the end, the French team led by Deschamps defeated the Italians with Trezeguet’s “Golden Ball” and won the second European Cup in team history. In the summer of 2008, it was on the rise. The Spanish team and the German team met in the final. At that time, the Matadors relied on Torres’ inspiration to overcome their opponents 1-0 and successfully won the first Delaunay Cup in team history. Four years later, it was at its peak. They met with the slightly tired Italian in the final. The Spaniard “humiliated” the opponent with a clean 4-0, and became the only team in the history of the European Cup to be able to defend the title.
When the time came to 2016, Portugal, which stumbled all the way to the finals, beat the host French team 1-0 with almost no Ronaldo in the finals, and won the final championship trophy at the door of their opponents. The wishful thinking fell through. Looking back at the teams that advanced to the finals, they are basically giants in the traditional sense. That is to say, like the Czech team advanced to the final (1996), or the Danish team won the championship in the era of fairy tale miracles (1992) ) No longer exists. Although Denmark once showed signs of replicating the miracle 29 years ago in this competition, it encountered England, which played better overall. In the end, the traditional giants successfully took the place in the finals, and the “rich matchups” in the European Cup finals continued to be staged.
Delaunay Cup debut at Wembley StadiumCan the dream of “Football Go Home” be realized
England become the focus of the media
As the biggest favorite to win the championship so far, the England team, which is about to usher in the final battle at Wembley Stadium at home, is undoubtedly the team that has attracted more attention. Not only British media, but other mainstream European media have also rushed to enumerate the reasons why they can finally realize their dream of “Football Home”. One of the most important points is that the home game has a great “catalytic” effect for these players. In the face of the Italian team, which has mediocre records in the competition in recent years and has no superstars, sitting at home is enough to help. They increase confidence.
In history, although England has had extremely outstanding or even leading superstars in different eras, the only one that can be achieved in the Intercontinental Competition is the 1966 World Cup champion. You know, this time Southgate’s team entered the final, it turned out to be the first time in the history of the Three Lions team to qualify for the final contest of this event. This undoubtedly makes everyone worried for him. After all, whether it is him and his assistants as coaches, or these young people, even the staff of the FA and the senior British footballers, almost all of their experience in the finals of the competition It is a blank, so this is also their potential problem, that is, too young, and may lack some experience.
But these are “not a problem” in the eyes of most British media, because they have superstar Kane. The England captain, like their team, has gradually recovered his form in the knockout stage after experiencing a downturn in the opening stage, scoring goals, key passes, everything. More importantly, by his side, the team also has a group of very talented young people. The appearance of Foden, Mount and Saka has given Kane more helpers. Of course, we must not forget the “Happy Boy” Sterling. When he found the goal on the court, the England No. 10 was still very reassuring. After several major tournaments, he also had a championship appearance.
The Italian team “drive high and go steady”
More mature and stable technical and tactical changes
In contrast, although the Italian team also has some young people emerging, overall, the Azzurri is relatively mature and stable. The two veterans of the defense provided the team with peace of mind. No matter what happens, with Chiellini and Bonucci as the golden partner, it seems that the problem can be solved. Of course, this time the Italian team can finally pass all the way to the final, but also thanks to one person for his dedication to the team, he is the coach Mancini.
Since taking over the team in 2018, the former Italy international has injected fresh tactical ideas into the team. The team does not just play defensive counterattacks blindly, but adopts a more efficient offensive pass and control football tactic, coupled with a high-post press, giving people a refreshing feeling. Now watching the Italian team play, it is a little more delicate. .
Unlike England’s “low drive and high move”, Italy is “high drive and steady move”. The three-game winning streak at the start and the appearance of seven goals made people realize that the Italian team is completely different this time, and entered After the knockout, they were tested to a certain extent, but they all succeeded in breaking through the barriers, especially in the semi-finals. They defeated Spain’s contention. Without Spinazzola, the Italians returned to their customary defensive counterattacks within a certain time frame. , The same effect is good. Variety of tactics is also the key to their ability to move forward.
Facing the more impactful England team in the final, this is a test for Italy’s defense. Although the defensive experience of the “Xuanming and Ming” is not to be said, it must be mentioned that the two of them add up to more than 70 At the age of 90, it is worth paying attention to whether it can maintain a high level in the 90-minute or 120-minute high-intensity game. Once the Italians can’t guarantee their efficiency on the defensive end, whether they can play the pass and control football that they are good at this time on the offensive end is still unknown. Therefore, for Mannich, how to make use of the opponent’s characteristics and changes to develop targeted tactics is also where the team has a chance to hit the championship.
Off the field
Three Italian team reporters infected with the new crown, the team urgently investigates
Just two days before the start of the European Cup final, a number of Italian media reported that three media personnel accompanying the team were infected with the new crown.
According to reports, the three are from the Italian Radio and Television Company, including a journalist, a camera and a technician. The first two have had close contact with the team. This situation made the Italian team preparing for the game immediately nervous. The interview with the player Bonucci, originally scheduled for the afternoon of the 9th local time, was changed to remote mode. At the same time, the Italian Football Association has banned any media personnel from entering the national team’s premises. , The public class was cancelled immediately.
The new crown is a topic that has been plagued by people all the time for more than a year. Football matches have been suspended for a period of time because of it. The 2020 European Cup is late because of the impact of the new crown. During the current European Cup, there were also individual players who were infected with the new crown and left the team early. As the final drama is about to be staged, the European Cup can be considered to have reached the end relatively smoothly during this period of heading against the wind. When the Italian team was confidently attacking the Delaunay Cup, the infection of the three media personnel accompanying the team was undoubtedly a blow.
According to local media reports, the Italian national team immediately closed the station and completed the disinfection. The entire team has undergone a nucleic acid test. First of all, it is necessary to ensure that no one in the team is infected. “The probability of someone in the team being infected is very low, but we still have to make sure that nothing goes wrong.” The Italian Football Association said that all players have been vaccinated and the probability of infection is low, but it is still necessary to ensure that no staff is diagnosed with the new crown, so as to avoid players and The coach becomes a close contact.
Source: Beijing Youth Daily
.