It worked for Portugal in the last Euros. Thankfully we have moved on from that style of play, at least under Mancini.
Mario Draghi putting in some work for the Azzurri. Trying to convince UEFA to move the finals over to Roma due to covid spiking in the UK. Chance of it happening is very very very slim..but you never know.
Lukaku just had a goal taken back for offside. and of course im super happy cause that was my golden boot futures bet i put for the tournament LOL.
I think you may be onto something, except that Locatelli should be on the left. Not sure people have commented on this, but against Wales Verratti took Jorginho's role for a few stretches of the match, with Jorginho moving a little forward. I think that Mancini wanted to check whether the option Barella - Verratti - Locatelli (from R to L) would be a good solution for when Jorginho needs to rest.
What is IBI (Italian Best Interest) for tomorrow? Obviously, we can beat anyone in this tournament, but who wouldn't take a slightly easier road? The winner of Group F is coming to our side of the bracket so if you assume France is the best, you'd want Portugal or Germany to win that group. The 2nd and 3rd place teams in Group E are also likely to join our side of the bracket...so we probably would rather have Spain win that group and Poland/Slovakia/Sweden come over to our side.
Yes, also the way Spain play, we would dominate them with pace on the break and crosses. This is the worst Spain team since Euro 2004. Sweden though is the type of team that would cause us problems. They really clog their half of the pitch and defend in a very organized way and look for opportunities to get forward and counter. Extremely hard to break down. Honestly, Sweden are like the Atletico Madrid of National Teams.
Honestly I never bought into the "easier path" to the finals route. All games from here on out will be tough. Even with Austria. Teams who are inferior on the paper always have a punchers chance. Of the big teams, I think we will have trouble with Belgium and Germany. The Belgians have the squad to play any which way. They're good holding the ball, but also look comfortable letting their opponents have it. Germany is a team that dominate the entire field. I don't know yet how well we will respond to a team with this pressure. France can win games even playing like shit. Portugal to me seem like they are a team that can beat anyone in this tournament while also simultaneously being able to lose to anyone in this tournament. The English have been OK in bursts. The fact that Kane's form is in the toilet is great. I can't say more about the Spanish that hasn't already been said. Too much inefficient possession with no end product. Really don't fear them at all. And then there is the Dutch that no one is considering and who are quietly having a good tournament. ITALY V. HOLLAND FINAL?
the 2nd penalty that Portugal got today. How is that any different than Turkey vs Italy the penalty we werent given? oh right.. anti italian discrimination by uefa like always
No doubt our half of the bracket is much tougher..Italy, Belg, Port, Spain, Croatia, France. The other side is much easier. But, I have faith in this team. We just have to take it one game at a time..and we can go far.
IIRC wasn't it pretty lopsided in 2016 as well on our end? Italy, Spain, Germany, England and France were in one half.
In all honesty though, we probably have the easiest route out of all the other big teams in the bracket. We get Austria while Belgium faces Portugal, Spain faces Croatia, and France faces Switzerland. Also if we make the final, we should have it easier. My guess is maybe Denmark or Sweden we face in the final?