LONDON, July 8: England and Italy. Those are the last two teams remaining at the European Championship, a tournament delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic but successfully played in various countries around the continent.
The two teams are the last of the 24 that started on June 11 in Rome, and they will meet on Sunday in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.
ENGLAND
England has played five of its six games at its own national soccer stadium, and the next will be at Wembley Stadium, too.
Of England’s games so far, only the quarterfinal victory over Ukraine was played away from home.
While Harry Kane didn’t score in the group stage, the striker now has four goals in three games, including putting in the rebound of his saved penalty in the semifinals against Denmark.
Raheem Sterling has three goals and drew the penalty that put England into its first major soccer final since 1966.
The team has conceded only one goal in six matches.
England coach Gareth Southgate has a deep squad of exciting young players that have excelled at the tournament while also making some history for themselves.
ITALY
After failing to qualify for the last World Cup, Italy has set a national team record of 33 unbeaten matches.
Six of them have come at Euro 2020.
The team earned victories over Turkey, Switzerland and Wales in the group stage, but then was taken to extra time before beating Austria in the round of 16.
An impressive 2-1 victory over top-ranked Belgium followed, giving Italy a record 13th consecutive win. That streak ended in the semifinals, but Italy still advanced by beating Spain 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.
Italy has reached the final with a mixture of attacking flair and solid defense, which has seen it concede only three goals at the tournament. (AP)
