This candid statement has been making the rounds for the past few days since the two finalists England and Italy, qualified for the Euro 2020 final on Sunday 11 July at Wembley Stadium in London.
English fans expect the European football title to come to England for the first time since the competition started in 1960, whilst the Italians will want to end final heartache having been runner-up twice in 2000 and 2012.
Interestingly, Italy won their only European title in 1968 at home at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with a 2-0 win against Yugoslavia. England will also want to replicate a final victory this Sunday in front of their partisan home crowd, with pressure firmly on the Three Lions not to disappoint.
Both sides had tough semi-finals with Italy beating Spain on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate. England needed extra time to beat a spirited Denmark 2-1.
England have never been in this position in a European Championship and know that this is a golden opportunity to end the years of suffering with a continental crown. The talent in the squad alone justifies some silverware with top stars such as talismanic captain, Harry Kane, lightning winger, Raheem Sterling, midfield rocks, Declan Rice and Kalvin Pillips and solid defence of John Stones and Harry Maguire delivering top performances.
Italy on the other hand has an interesting mix of hardened quality veterans at the back with Juventus pair, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini forming a solid brick wall. In the middle, the world class, Marco Verratti and Jorginho pull the strings with the dangerous Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Insigne on the wings providing the spark.
Both teams rely on the wingers to get the opposition on the backfoot – Italy on the left with Insigne and England on the right with Sterling. If the defence keep them quiet then they could have one hand on the title. Italy may have an advantage in the midfield battle with an extra midfielder in Manuel Locatelli or Nicola Barela filling in. They will though need to make sure that Mason Mount or Jack Grealish (whoever starts) doesn’t get the supply from the centre of the park to create opportunities for Kane or Sterling up front.
England’s full backs (Luke Shaw and Kyle Walker) also will need to be at their best to keep Insigne or Chiesa in check. Both are great at striking goals from every angle and love to cut inside.
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnaruma has been in brilliant form in the tournament and will take some stopping, whilst England’s Jordan Pickford has also been solid. Pickford’s positioning though can sometimes let him down as evidenced against Denmark.
As in any final, the first goal will be crucial – so expect teams to feel things out in the first 10 minutes. It promises to be quite an even contest between Roberto Mancini’s troops and Gareth Southgate’s soldiers with talent across the park.
Italy are still on a 33 games unbeaten streak whilst England have only lost twice at Wembley under the management of Gareth Southgate.
In head to head stats, Italy hold a slight advantage with 11 wins as opposed to 8 from England. The contest between these two nations has also ended in 8 draws.
Only one questions remains, who will have the key to victory to unlock the path to championship success?
If individual brilliance or a masterclass team goal won’t settle things then the dreaded penalty shootout will.
The answer lies in the next 90 (or 120+) minutes at Wembley.
The Sport Escort 