Footy #2

[Noldus]

[ddhm]

Well , here we are , a fantastic football experience ready to come at an end with the grand finale .. A EURO that was delayed for one year , only to be back with “ hungrier “ fans , players , teams , coaches 😇 It was all elements combined so for the whole world to witness some shocking events already from DAY 2 with the almost dying incident of Eriksen to the absolutely incredible passion of fans in Budapest and Copehangen with the full 100% capacity stadiums. But , all nice things come to an end , we will take a big break till November 2022 where the whole world will update their rendezvous in Qatar for World Cup ‘22 ☺️
 

Italy vs England then .. what can we say .. let’s begin .Italy and England have both their own big chances to win the trophy . It is a battle in absolute balance , both teams have their own “ weapons “ , their own advantages and it is what can turn this  balanced game to each side.

 

For example, Italy has an advantage with the goalkeeper , there’s serious difference between Donarouma and Pickford . In a certain point , the security that Donarouma gives , made the difference in the semifinal against Spain ., not only because he saved Morata’s penalty kick and the very difficult save of Olmo’s shot but for the whole security that gave  to his defense in comparison to Simon .

 

Of course , Pickford hasn’t conceived a goal in a game’s natural process , he was beaten for the first time against the Danish , but to be honest , he doesn’t gives the same security like Donarouma , he makes mistakes with the ball on his feet and in my opinion , in this high level , the foul shot and the goal he conceived by Damsgaard in this football level  , is unacceptable . 
 

On the other hand , without the slightest doubt , a bigger advantage and even more than the goalkeeper , England has in the center forward position . Kane looks on fire , he participates in the creation and as long as the tournament has been going , he executes and scores more . Imobile is a fighter but he is a much lower class of player . 
 

What we need to guess is which or who will be the X- factor of the game . In my opinion , if things we saw at the semifinals remain the same , England will be the champions , that is , if they manage to make a game as equal as the way they played Denmark and if Italy plays as they played Spain , the “ 3 Lions “ will have a huge advantage . 
 

The question is if the circumstances are there to watch a different  game . Against spain , italy got tired and went backwards because Enrique’s players are well trained to move the ball in excellent style from the defense line and like this , they exhausted them with their football game . Mancini had to substitute very early the duo of Verati - Barela and in combination with his rush decision to substitute Imobile , his team went significant backwards .

 

England’s weakness is , apart from Pickford ,that the center midfielders duo of Rice - Philips , doesn’t belong to a team’s level  that wants to win the tournament . They haven’t so far “ paid the price” , that was because the teams that where at the group , didn’t have the skills and class to show this weakness .At the KO stage , England had the fortune  that the Ukrainians and the Danish played a 3-4-3 with two classic midfielders , so England had an extra player due to their tactic and their defensive line not to face so much pressure .

 

But, the Italians they will play a 4-3-3 they will have against Maund / Rice / Philips the trio of Zorzinio / Verati / Barela . Maund isn’t making a good tournament but the most important is that Verati / Barela will press incredibly much Rice and Philips during each course of the game and this might be the X-factor that can change the odds for this game .

 

I believe that Italy will win the trophy , but at the end , the absolute winners at the end will be all of us , the fans , that for one month we enjoyed some of the most amazing games and players , may the best team win 😇😎

[Robwin]

Well I hope the Italians don't keep up their famous fouling methods, been a bit iffy so far.

[albundy1089]

Thank you all for your insights this tournament, especially @ddhmfor his pre-game analysis. Using the observations made on this thread has given me a new level of knowledge  about the game and made the journey much more enjoyable. 

So, England is up 1-0. Who should I be watching for?

Do we really have to wait until November 2022 for the World Cup? Or do I have to settle for the Premier League snippets NBC gives us yanks?

 

[bluewinner]

[jabbath1987]

Well after the first goal the game got a bit slow... 

[nack]

Eng are defending well but Italy have picked up the pace. I believe if Eng doesn't attack in the second half it will be 1-1 soon. Gotta breach Pickford

[Robwin]

I think we will see more of the Italian rough stuff,diving and rolling around in the second half for which they are famous for. Hope not as it has been a good match so far in spite of a few iffy tackles.

[bluewinner]

6 minutes ago, nack said:

Eng are defending well but Italy have picked up the pace. I believe if Eng doesn't attack in the second half it will be 1-1 soon. Gotta breach Pickford

let them come, we have good attacking players, one good counter attack , and it'll be 2-0 😁  

[jabbath1987]

Congrats to Italy. 👍 England and penalties. Well this law of nature is still valid 😂

[Robwin]

Well done Italy you deserved it I hate admitting it but penalties are our let down again.

[jabbath1987]

Just now, Robwin said:

Well done Italy you deserved it I hate admitting it but penalties are our let down again.

Good fair game. I hope the good mood in your country won't fade away now. 👍