All eyes on Wembley

England and Italy counting down to Euro 2020 final

England and Italy counting down to Euro 2020 final

LONDON: England and Italy are holding their collective breath as the clock counts down to Sunday’s Euro 2020 final showdown which will be watched by around 65,000 fans at Wembley and millions more on television.

The anticipation is great in England, as the hosts sense that this is their time to end a 55year wait to add a second major trophy to their 1966 World Cup.

It’s huge, with the final being at Wembley as well it’s even more special.

— John Stones, England defender

Wembley was the venue for that final and will be again on Sunday as Gareth Southgate’s England seek to complete the job after edging out Denmark 2-1 in extra time in front of 64,950 supporters in Wednesday’s semifinal.

England began the tournament as one of several contenders to lift the trophy but have taken advantage of playing most of their games at home. The final will be their sixth match at Wembley out of their seven.

“It’s huge, with the final being at Wembley as well it’s even more special, something we could have only dreamt of at the start of the tournament,” defender John Stones said on Friday.

“We’ve got this far now and we’ve grown throughout the tournament and not put too much pressure on ourselves. We’ve overcome some tough tests over the last few years.”

England have never beaten Italy at a major tournament, although meetings between the nations have been few and far between.

Italy triumphed in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 in Ukraine and won 2-1 when they met in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, although both sides ended up being eliminated in the first round.

Both teams have been transformed since then. The Azzurri have lit up Euro 2020 ever since beating Turkey 3-0 in the opening game a month ago.

They are on a national record 33-match unbeaten run under coach Roberto Mancini, who has spent time in England both as a player and as a manager.

This will be their third game of the tournament at Wembley, where they beat Austria 2-1 in extra time in the last 16 and Spain on penalties in a brilliant semi-final on Tuesday.