Italy
England coach disses Chelsea legends, gives backing to Tottenham star
The first of the European Championship semi-finals takes place later today, with Italy facing Spain at Wembley Stadium. With COVID-19 restrictions gradually being eased, there will be 60,000 fans in attendance to watch what should be a cracking game. However, if you happen to be Italy’s manager, this isn’t a cause for celebration. We’ll get to him shortly, but let’s start our latest Euro 2020 Diary with some odd comments from an England coach. Holland gets carried away England assistant coach Steve Holland has claimed that Harry Kane is the best finisher he’s ever seen. During an interview with talkSPORT, Holland mentioned Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as being great finishers but placed Kane ahead of them. 🗣️ “I was fortunate enough to work with Didier at Chelsea, but the...
Italy vs Spain – Euro 2020 Semi-Final Preview, H2H, Team News, Players to Watch & Predicted Line-ups
Italy and Spain will go head-to-head at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night in a mouth-watering Euro 2020 semi-final showdown. Italy’s road to redemption at Euro 2020 has seen them top Group A with all three victories and oust Austria and Belgium in the first two knockout rounds. By contrast, the Spaniards may be tired heading into this meeting after failing to negotiate their previous knockout fixtures inside the 90 minutes. Note: You can watch all Euro 2020 games via live streaming. Italy Preview Italy needed extra time to squeak through to the quarter-finals, where it took them just 45 minutes to overcome the world’s best-ranked nation Belgium and reach their first Euro semi-finals since 2012. Romelu Lukaku’s first-half penalty during Italy’s 2-1 quarter-final success saw Gli Azzurri ...
Former Arsenal star fluffs his lines as £90 million man flops
The first two European Championship quarter-finals didn’t disappoint, with Spain and Italy progressing after two entertaining matches. Spain defeated Switzerland on penalties in the opening fixture, while Italy deservedly defeated over-hyped Belgium in the second game. Ahead of the remaining two quarter-finals, we take a look at a few Euro 2020 talking points from the last 24 hours. Keown fluffs his lines If you’ve been following this column during the tournament, you will know that we’ve not been overly enamoured with some of the co-commentators and pundits. Robbie Savage? Biased. Danny Murphy? Lousy. Jermaine Jenas? Terrible. After last night’s games, we have another addition to the list – Martin Keown. Keown” “its been the game of the tournament” LOL. and he gets paid for this? Best tea...
Tactical Analysis: How Italy outclassed Belgium in the Euros
The 16th edition of the European Championships continued to deliver football and entertainment of the highest order as we entered the quarterfinal stage, and the biggest clash of the last-eight featured Belgium and Italy, who squared off in the Allianz Arena in Munich. Both sides had exited in the quarterfinals in Euro 2016, but one of their fates was set to change here. Belgium had a couple of key players including Eden Hazard out due to injury, while Italy were fit and firing as Roberto Mancini had a winning formula working brilliantly even before the group stage started. After a hard-fought 90 minutes, Italy emerged 2-1 winners thanks to a couple of very good finishes in the first half. In this analysis, we will take a look at how Roberto Mancini’s side were able to beat the Belgians, a...
‘What a player’: Some Chelsea fans praise ‘masterclass’ performance of €40m-rated star
A selection of Chelsea fans on Twitter heaped praise on midfielder Jorginho, who produced a sublime midfield display during Italy’s 2-1 win over Belgium at Euro 2020. The Azzurri booked their spot in the last four of the tournament with goals from Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne. Romelu Lukaku scored from the spot for Belgium. Jorginho was one of the many standout performers for the Azzurri on the night. He was splendid with his distribution with 71 of his 72 attempted passes completed. The 29-year-old also won five ground duels, and lost possession on just three occasions. Some of the Blues supporters were delighted with his near flawless performance for the national team, and here are a few reactions on Twitter. The last time Jorginho lost a game with Italy was in 2018 vs Portugal. A ...
Inter Milan duo get on scoresheet, former Premier League defender disappoints – Belgium 1-2 Italy Player Ratings
Belgium have been knocked out of the European Championships after losing 2-1 to Italy on Friday. Italy thought they had taken an early lead when Leonardo Bonucci bundled home at the back post from a free-kick. However, replays showed that he was marginally offside, and VAR intervened to overturn the decision. Belgium responded with a couple of chances of their own. Gianluigi Donnarumma twice had to be at his best, denying Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. And moments later, Italy got themselves in front. Jan Vertonghen made a mess of a clearance, and it fell to Nicolo Barella in the box. The Inter Milan midfielder wriggled away from Thomas Vermaelen and Thorgan Hazard and slammed into the far corner. They continued to push for a second, and they were rewarded with a fantastic goal just be...
Arsenal warned off signing £35 million international star
Not long to go now folks! We’re around an hour away from the start of the quarter-finals at the European Championships. It’s the ‘tough half of the draw’ this evening as Spain face Switzerland, while Italy go head-to-head with Belgium. On Saturday we’ve got Czech Republic against Denmark and England versus Ukraine. Or, as most of the English media would have you believe, England are playing and no one else. Ahead of the action, we’ve dug out three stories that have caught our attention for our latest Euro 2020 Diary. Arsenal warned off Locatelli ‘I’m not a manager, but it’s not something I would do if I was in Mikel Arteta’s shoes.’ Nigel Winterburn there, telling the current Arsenal boss not to sign Manuel Locatelli. The 23-year-old has been superb at Euro 2020, sparking talk that he coul...
Euro 2020: Italy bars travelling England fans from Rome stadium
Fans travelling from the UK to Italy for England’s Euro 2020 quarterfinal clash with Ukraine on Saturday will not be allowed to enter the stadium in Rome, even if they have a ticket, due to coronavirus curbs, the Italian Embassy in London said on Thursday. England’s victory over Germany on Tuesday set up the last-eight clash at the Stadio Olimpico, but fans looking to make the journey to Italy from the UK cannot attend the match. “Anybody who has been in the UK in the previous 14 days, irrespective of their nationality or residency, will not be admitted to the stadium, even if they have a ticket,” a statement read. “Only those who can prove that they have arrived in Italy at least six days previously, have observed five days of quarantine, and have taken a post-quarantine Covid-19 test wit...
Euro 2020 Predictions: England, Denmark, Spain and Italy to progress to the semifinals
After a thrilling set of last 16 ties, the Euro 2020 quarter-finals are upon us. We could be in for another exhilarating round of fixtures. With giants such as France, Germany, Portugal and Netherlands all eliminated, the tournament is wide open. All of the remaining eight will know that there is a huge opportunity to get some silverware in the cabinet. Here are our predictions for the quarter-finals. Switzerland vs Spain Morata got his first goal of the summer in extra time Having looked down and out against France, Switzerland pulled off the shock of the tournament by coming back and defeating the world champions on penalties. Spain’s game against Croatia was equally as thrilling. They were 3-1 up going into the closing stages but conceded twice late on to go to extra time before hitting...
Euro 2020: Knockout games bring the best out of France – Hugo Lloris
A depleted France will draw motivation from the threat of elimination as they prepare to face Switzerland in their European Championship last-16 match, captain Hugo Lloris said on Sunday. World champions France topped Group F with one win and two draws ahead of Portugal and Germany but key players in their backline have picked up injuries to give coach Didier Deschamps a selection headache on Monday. While Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram are unavailable, Deschamps confirmed full backs Jules Kounde and Lucas Digne are also ruled out against the Swiss. Left back Lucas Hernandez, who injured his knee, has a chance to feature. Speaking at a news conference, goalkeeper Lloris said France – who finished runners-up in 2016 – were accustomed to do-or-die situations and thrived under pressure. “W...
Roma man impresses again, ex-Premier League forward also does well – Italy 2-1 Austria Player Ratings
Italy made it to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tough evening against Austria. The first chance of note came in the 17th minute. Leonardo Spinazzola got down the left and played a low cross to Nicolo Barella, whose shot was denied by the right foot of Daniel Bachmann. Austria responded with a chance of their own. Marcel Sabitzer floated a ball over the top for Marko Arnautovic, but the former West Ham United forward fired over on the half-volley. The closest either side came to opening the scoring came through Ciro Immobile. The Lazio man hit a shot from 30 yards which clipped the outside of the post. Italy had the better of the first half, registering 11 attempts to Austria’s one. Nonetheless, the two sides went into the break level. Austria came out in the second half showing mu...
Romelu Lukaku backed to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
Former Belgium striker Emile Mpenza has tipped Romelu Lukaku to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old has excelled at Inter, scoring 64 goals in just 95 matches since joining the Serie A side from Manchester United in 2019. The forward has a similar record for the national team, having struck 63 times in 96 caps for the Rode Duivels, including three at Euro 2020. Mpenza has been amazed by the ex-Chelsea and Anderlecht player’s development and believes Bayern would be smart to look at him if they need to replace Poland sensation Lewandowski following his 48-goal campaign in Germany. “Romelu’s strength in a duel and his speed are outstanding. That makes it so difficult for the defenders against him,” Mpenza told Sport Bild. “If they go into a duel with him, he uses his...
