Italy ‘not scared’ of Wembley, warns Bonucci

“Playing at their home does not scare us,” Italy’s veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci said on Friday. “We are looking forward to taking to the field even though most of the fans present will be English.”

Italy had the backing of around 11,000 UK-based fans at the semi-final and their supporters will once again be there for the final.

Reports in Italy said that 6,500 tickets had been sold to fans already in Britain and that number would be bolstered by 1,000 more who will fly into the country especially for the game.

Italy’s President, Sergio Mattarella, will be there too.

The Azzurri are also looking to end a long wait to win the European Championship.

The four-time World Cup winners have been continental champions just once, when it was just a four-team event back in 1968. Since then they have reached two finals, losing to France in 2000 and to Spain in 2012. Sunday’s game will be their 10th major final.

Mancini has been praised for the job he has done since taking over in 2018 in the aftermath of Italy’s failure to qualify for that year’s World Cup.

“Beyond the players, I’d say that everything comes from Mancini who knows how to make the right choices,” Italy legend Dino Zoff told AFP.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among those at England’s semi-final along with Prince William, who is president of the English Football Association.

Johnson has not ruled out the prospect of an ‘emergency’ public holiday should England triumph on Sunday.