England: Will The Three Lions Roar Again After Five Decades?

The 60 million-strong population of England are hoping that the Three Lions will finally be named among winners of the European Championship. England face Italy in the final of the 2020 edition on Sunday.

Many want the English team to win their first tournament title since 1966, especially as it will be played at Wembley Stadium. It is likely to be a full house as the UK Government plans to remove all COVID-19 restrictions.

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Gareth Southgate has brought out the very best of these young lads, many of whom have played regularly for their clubs. England is one of the teams with a strong bench and they can hurt anyone. With the fans behind them at their home stadium, the Three Lions have the edge to make history.

Coincidentally, this could be Harry Kane’s first title as a player. The Tottenham talisman, whose future at the North London club remains uncertain, has been able to weather the storm. Although he was unable to score throughout the group games, he has now scored four in his last three games. Getting his hands on his first career title will be the icing on the cake.

Kane has been an unselfish striker. He is therefore expected to play more for the wingers, especially Raheem Sterling who has been very consistent all through the tournament. Sterling could pose a threat to the aging backline of Italy with his pace.

Can Italy stop England at Wembley?

Meanwhile, Italy can’t be ruled out of this. Roberto Mancini’s men had the audacity to knock out top teams like Belgium and Spain. However, they struggled to cope with the false nine formations of Spain. But with Kane as a focal point for England, the English wingers could be muscled off the ball.

Italian wingers Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Chiesa, who scored a beautiful curler against Spain, also pose a threat to the backline of the English team. This is thus a litmus test for Harry Maguire and John Stone especially.

It won’t be a surprise though if it ends up a dull match, where both teams are cautious of not making mistakes. But should it go into extra time and even penalties, it becomes a game of mental strength.

Italy have one Euro trophy in their cabinet and have lost in three finals. This is one of the most attack-minded teams that Italy have produced in the modern era. And if both teams throw caution to the wind, it can become an end-to-end game for the fans.

Silverware opportunity for England captain Kane

Theoretically, England will want the win more. This is based on the fact that this would be their first major tournament final for 55 years.

Kane needs to just find a way of leading them to victory having scored 275 goals for club and country. At 27, he could become the first English captain since Bobby Moore in 1966 to lift a piece of major silverware.

So, it’s two battles for England; winning their first major laurel after over five decades and the pressure of winning on home turf. But it appears that Southgate knows how to get them to perform, as seen i the match against Denmark. After suffering a setback, they triumphed at the end of the day.

The battle to win this clash is both mental and physical. Does England have what it takes? The whole world is waiting to hear the roar of the Three Lions.