A look at England and Italy's Euro 2020 stats ahead of Sunday's final
Italy have had 50 MORE shots than England at Euro 2020 and are way ahead in the tackling department, while the Three Lions’ possession and passing record is much better… A look at both sides’ tournament stats as they prepare for Sunday’s final
- England and Italy face off in Sunday evening’s Euro 2020 final at Wembley
- Both are yet to taste defeat and have been in superb form at the tournament
- Here, Sportsmail take a closer look at the stats ahead of Sunday’s showdown
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
The agonising wait for football to return home has never been closer to ending. On Sunday night, England can bring 55 years of hurt to a halt by beating Italy at Wembley.
What an achievement that would be. What a lift that would give the country. These players will be immortalised forever if they manage to pull it off, and too bloody right.
English football fans have suffered enough over the years, so those partying like the Euros have already been won can be forgiven. But there is still a nerve-wracking 90 minutes (and probably more) to get through against a formidable opponent who have looked every bit as good as a team who haven’t been beaten in 33 matches.
England and Italy have been in superb form and face off in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday
Gareth Southgate’s fearless young Lions won’t be losing any sleep at the thought of playing Italy though, having shown themselves to be a pretty tough lot to beat as well throughout this tournament.
Both sides have their similarities and differences in styles; Italy more explosive on the counter, England more patient and probing in attack, while an emphasis on solid defending is a shared trait.
Winning is another one. But who has performed better than the other? And what do the stats tell us? Here, Sportsmail analyses both sides’ key team and individual stats at Euro 2020 ahead of Sunday’s final.
Shots
England may have had 20 shots against Denmark but they’re still way behind Italy, with Roberto Mancini men’s having had 50 more attempts on goal at Euro 2020.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been more creative with Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Chiesa and Ciro Immobile partial to a shot from distance.
Despite having had so many more attempts on goal, Italy have only scored two more than England, which lends itself to the belief that Gareth Southgate’s men are more clinical.
Certainly Kane has proven to be superior to Ciro Immobile in this tournament, with two more goals to his name.
Italy have had plenty more shots than England with their forwards shooting from distance
Tackles
It will come as no surprise that Italy have made more tackles at Euro 2020 than England, with 74 to our 53.
The Italians are well renowned for being dogged defenders and showed against Spain how resilient they can be against top quality attacking talent when the pressure is on.
England have a decent record themselves in this department, which has been partially aided by Southgate’s preference of playing two defensive midfielders at this tournament.
But the Italians really are in a league of their own when it comes to the art of defending with expert tacklers of the likes of Marco Verratti, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in their ranks.
Italy are masters at defending and have made 21 more tackles than England at Euro 2020
Possession
Bar the opening game against Croatia, England have enjoyed the majority of possession in all of their Euro 2020 matches.
Southgate’s men have shown composure in midfield areas and a real calmness on the ball at this tournament, which has allowed them to set up patient, probing attacks.
Dominating the ball has been a feature of England’s performances, with Southgate’s side having an overall possession record of 54.2% – the fourth highest at the tournament.
Italy, on the other hand, tend to move the ball much more quicker and look to set up fast, fluid attacks while in tight games they are happy to sit in a deep block and wait for an opportunity to counter. So on Sunday, you can expect England to enjoy the lions share of the ball, but this actually could suit Italy more.
Stats suggest England are better at ball retention with a higher rate of possession than Italy
Passing accuracy
This is another area that England have been brilliant in.
They’re not quite at the level of the Spaniards but they’ve used the ball methodically and sensibly and so have rarely given the ball away in their six matches.
England have a passing accuracy of 87.7 per cent, 1.4 per cent higher than the Italians. Southgate’s men have also attempted 17 more crosses than Italy and completed three more than them.
It all points to England having more of the ball on Sunday. The important thing though, as always, is what you do with it.
Gareth Southgate’s men also have a higher succession rate than Italy in completing passes
PLAYER STATS
Goals
Kane is the joint-second highest scorer at Euro 2020 and has the more goals than any other England or Italian player.
The England striker endured a miserable time in the group stages, drawing a blank in his first three games, but has hit his stride just at the right time, scoring in the wins over Germany, Ukraine and Denmark.
Italy’s striker Immobile got off to a fast start, scoring two goals in his first two games at the tournament but hasn’t scored since. Lorenzo Insigne has contributed with two-well taken goals, while Federico Chiesa also has scored twice and is probably now considered their biggest goal threat with two in his last three.
Raheem Sterling has arguably been the player of the tournament and has more goals than any other Italy player with three to his name so far. Taking that into account, it would appear that England have more dangerous individuals, but Italy have goals across their team.
Harry Kane is closing in on the golden boot and has scored more than any England or Italy star
Tackles
Marco Verratti may be diminutive, but he’s also combative and a great tackler.
The Italian midfielder is a specialist in breaking up play and has completed 21 tackles at Euro 2020 – seven more than any other player.
England’s nearest player to him in that department is Kalvin Phillips, who has made 11. The England midfielder has, however, made one more ball recovery than his opposite number with 25 so far.
It certainly promises to be an intriguing battle in the middle of the park between Phillips and Verratti and could be a key factor in determining the outcome of the match.
Marco Verratti is key at breaking up play for Italy and has made more tackles than any player
Distance covered
There is such an emphasis on pressing the ball and playing at a high intensity in the modern game that it is crucial to have players with extreme fitness levels and a willingness to cover large areas on the pitch.
Italy and England certainly have that in abundance with seven players combined in the top 20 to have covered the most distance at the tournament.
Italy’s Jorginho has run further than any other player in both teams, covering 72.3km in his six matches. Kalvin Phillips is not too far away from him, running a total of 67.3km, but has played 40 less minutes than his Italian counterpart.
They are the engines for their sides and the significant of their role cannot be underestimated.
Jorginho is an engine in midfield and has covered 72.3km in his six games and the tournament
Top speed
No one has ran faster than Leonardo Spinazzola at Euro 2020 – it’s just as well then he won’t be playing on Sunday!
The flying wing-back clocked a ridiculous speed of 33.8 km/h and has been one of the standout stars of the tournament, but fortunately for England is unavailable for Sunday’s final after rupturing his Achilles in the win over Belgium.
Marcus Rashford has found chances at the tournament limited under Gareth Southgate but is a bit of speed demon himself, running at a top speed of 33.5 km/h – the fifth fastest sprint at the tournament so far.
The Manchester United forward is certainly an option for Southgate off the bench and has the kind of pace that will frighten Italy’s defence. Raheem Sterling is also high up in the speed charts, with a fastest time of 33.1 km/h.
Marcus Rashford’s clocked one of fastest times at Euro 2020 and his pace is a threat to Italy
Top performers
The FedEx Performance Zone has been tracking players’ international form throughout Euro 2020 and according to their stats, England’s top three players have outperformed Italy’s.
Marco Verratti may be ranked higher than any player from either side, coming in as the fourth best in the tournament, but England have more players ranked inside the top 10.
Harry Kane is the best-ranked England player in sixth, just ahead Raheem Sterling in seventh while Luke Shaw is above Italy’s other two top performers in 21st.
Italy’s second-best performer is 27th-placed Manuel Locatelli while Jorginho has recently shot up the ranks to 32nd.
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