How Italy went from World Cup absences to Euro 2020 finalists | Euro2020 News

Italy hasn’t lost a football game since September 2018 – it’s a stunning 33-game unbeaten run on Wednesday evening, Semi-final of the 2020 Euro Cup.

They will be named 34th and European champions.

Italy is a four-time world champion, but failed to qualify for the 2018 edition. On Sunday, they will play in England or Denmark in the 2020 Euro Cup final.

After taking Italy to its lowest point, director Roberto Mancini was defying hopes after Azzurri reached the final when he won a penalty for Spain.

The transformation of Mancini in Italy over the last three years has been extraordinary. And they were forced to fight Spain, taking the lead with a superb goal from Federico Chiesa, but Alvaro Morata’s equalizer was 1-1 and forced extra time before Azzurri prevailed 4-2 on penalties.

After scoring seven unanswered goals in the group stage, Turkey, Switzerland and Wales won in extra time over Austria, and in the quarter-finals they beat Belgium despite losing left-wing star Leonardo Spinazzola against the torn Achilles tendon.

Now they are getting their second European Championship.

“When you play in a World Cup or a European Championship, it’s intense, and it always comes down to winning the game, you have to go deeper and suffer,” Mancini said. “Not everything can be as smooth as our progress so far.

“We knew that was going to be very tough, and that’s why I think the players and everyone who has worked with us over the last three years deserves a lot of merit, because it’s not going to be easy at all.

“Almost no one thought we could do that and yet we’re in the final, so we’re happy to have Italians everywhere.”

The Italians took to the streets across the country to celebrate, with 11,000 fans – as all UK venues prevented supporters from traveling abroad – from inside Wembley to see Jorginho get a decisive shot.

Euro 2020 will play in the 10th final, six in the World Cup and three in the previous European Championships [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]

Italy were confused after losing to Sweden in a 2018 World Cup play-off and Mancini had to pick up the pieces.

He has rebuilt them, and in this Euro they have been almost the whole difference: from the central pair of defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci to the excellent full-back defenders, the excellent midfielders of Marco Verratti, Jorginho and Nicolo Barella. , and the first live line.

“The players wanted to play the football brand that people liked and so far they have managed to do that,” Mancini added.

Euro 2020 will play in the 10th final, six in the World Cup and three in the previous European Championships.

But despite having lifted the World Cup four times, the only continental victory they have had so far has been to host the four-team event in 1968.

Since then, there have been two losses that have been painful in different ways.

In 2000, a golden goal from France congratulated him on extra time in Rotterdam, beating Spain 4-0 in Kyiv in 2012.

10 – Italy reaches the main final of the 10th Championship (World Cup / Euro Cup) – Only Germany (14) has participated in the most important finals of the Italian Championship (including Euro 2020) among the European nations. Pedigree. # EURO2020 #ITA pic.twitter.com/DlMASt57Cf

– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 6, 2021

“There is still a step to be taken and now we need to rest because it has been really very challenging,” Mancini added. “It’s very tiring when you get into your sixth game with every trip.”

Italy hopes the seventh will be even more memorable.

“Playing in matches like this in my country, which represented 60 million Italians, was an incredible dream,” said Chiesa of Juventus, the son of former member Enrico Chiesa of the Mancini Sampdoria team.

On Tuesday evening, Jorginho threw home an astonishingly tidy white to fix the problems when Spanish Alvaro Morata equalized in stoppage time when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped him.

Azzurri were dangerous on the counterattacks, but in the 60th minute they took the lead against the game. Federico Chiesa was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was blocked by the keeper.

Spain got a well-deserved equalizer with 10 minutes left when substitute Morata played a tidy double with Dani Olmo before heading home but was unable to find a winner.

“I want to congratulate my players, we have shown that we are a team and we will continue to do that,” said Spanish coach Luis Enrique.

The Italian players are celebrating their arrival in the final after winning the penalty shootout [Laurence Griffiths/Pool via Reuters]