Italy Not Afraid Of Wembley

FootyBiteJuly 11, 2021

ROME: Leonardo Bonucci insists Italy are not afraid to face England at home ahead of the Euro 2020 final, early Monday morning Malaysia time.

Italy went down with a second European title-hunting mission since 1968 while England never won a championship in continental competition with the only major trophy they won being the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.

“Playing on their own turf doesn’t scare us,” the 34 -year -old Italian defender said.

“We just thought to play football and enjoy it. On the pitch, it will be the best action that will be presented from Italy, England and the referees.

“We are excited to be in action even though most of the fans who will be in attendance are England supporters. We want to make history, show the best performance and after that we see the results.”

Bonucci, who is also Italian veteran player and captain Giorgio Chiellini, 36, will be given the task of chaining the movements of England strikers Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling who are the main characters for The Three Lions in this tournament.

“Young versus old,” joked Bonucci.

“Kane? We’re not new to him, he’s played well with Tottenham Hotspur and England for a few seasons.

“In the last three games, we have been lucky to have three of the best strikers in the world (Romelu Lukaku, Alvaro Morata and Kane). It gives us the motivation not to miss.

“They are great strikers, we have to be careful. We are aware of the difficulties they can give us and we have to be careful with their speed.”

Bonucci and Chiellini were the two players who remained in the Italian squad when they lost the Euro 2012 final at the hands of Spain with coach Roberto Mancini taking over in 2018 which saw the team fail to qualify for the World Cup.

“Mancini made us work hard from day one. From there, we felt everyone was eager to start all over again. He worked by focusing on mental strength, rebuilding self -confidence and the spirit to fight,” Bonucci said.

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