Italian old guard VS Young lions

Bonucci says Italy’s old guard will have to snuff out England’s young guns, writes JEREMY CROSS

LEONARDO Bonucci admits Italy’s old guard will have to snuff out England’s young guns in tomorrow’s Euro 2020 Final at Wembley.

Roberto Mancini’s men face the Three Lions in an epic showdown looking to conquer Europe for the first time since 1968.

Italy have been one of the teams of the tournament after rolling back the years to become a major force once again.

The Azzurri go into the clash on the back of an astonishing 33 game unbeaten run – and they have not lost in more than three years.

Their success has been built on the defensive duo of old-timers Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, who have a combined age of 70 and 219 caps between them.

But the wily duo will face their biggest test of the tournament this weekend, in the shape of England’s array of attacking flair, led by captain Harry Kane.

Bonucci, 34, knows him and his partner in crime at the back will have to be on top of their games once again if Italy are to take the title and break English hearts.

He said: “Well, it’s youngsters versus veterans, let’s say.

“So yes, the English forwards are very strong and are great players, so we will need to be very cautious in our defence and the whole team must be very cautious.

“We know how they can bring difficulties for us, so we’ll need to pay a lot of attention to the pace, and to the quickness of their forwards like Harry Kane and the others.

“Harry Kane is a very famous player, he’s been doing very well at Tottenham and the national team - he is one of the best strikers in the world.”

Both nations suffered more than most throughout the Covid19 pandemic and Bonucci admits conquering Europe would mean the world to Italian people.

And he is not worried that a fanatical home crowd at Wembley will distract Mancini’s side from the task at hand.

The Juventus legend, who has won 108 caps, said: “It’s very important for Italian football, for each individual player in the national team and for the Football

Association.

“For everything that the victory at this European Championship

would erase after many difficult years for Italy. But not just Italy, it will be a great injection of enthusiasm for the Italian people.

“We are just focused on playing football, on having fun and enjoying it and bringing enthusiasm. What happens during the match will be the best show for European and World Football by England and Italy. We’ll play at their home, but we are not afraid of that.”

Mancini took charge after Italy had failed to qualify for the last World Cup and has engineered a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes.

Bonucci reckons the former Manchester City boss has given them all the mental strength to believe they can win the big prizes again and he added:

“I didn’t think we’d be in the final of the competition, but I never thought that coming back again was hard. When Mancini came in, since the first day he gave us confidence, so we felt the willingness to start from scratch again and achieve something great.

“It allowed us to be here and to be believing in something that seemed impossible three years ago. But we are here now, we are enjoying every moment and we will do everything we can to be able to play well and win on Sunday.

“He worked on the mentality, on our heads. He gave us confidence back, he gave us self-esteem, making us believe that what he wanted was the right way, the best way, and he selected talent, quality, which is what makes you win in football.”