And then there were four… Is it coming home? Will Denmark complete its Cinderella story for their captain Christian Eriksen? Will Italy continue their unbeaten streak and complete their revenge story after missing out on Russia in 2018? Or will Spain reclaim their spot at the European Championships throne? These questions are soon to be answered as the final four teams will battle it out for the trophy. It has been an incredible journey to watch this for the past month as we’ve seen some incredible scenes across the whole tournament. Cities across the continent have been injected with passion from all sides as football has found its way through 11 major cities in Europe. Amsterdam, Baku, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome, Saint Petersburg, and Seville have been the sight of the wonderful matches we’ve been watching. Some highlights personally for me was seeing a full capacity stadium in Budapest during the matches for the “Group of Death” with France, Portugal, Germany, and Hungary. All roads have now led to London (instead of Rome) for the semi-finals and final. Specifically, at the great Wembley Stadium. The British government has approved for over 60,000 fans (75% capacity) to watch the matches at Wembley this week. This happened after UEFA put the pressure on them by threatening to move the matches to Budapest where there are no restrictions in the stadiums. With all the COVID-19 nonsense seemingly almost behind us, we can now focus on the main reason why everyone is tuned in. The beautiful game of football (a.k.a soccer to Americans). Four teams. One goal. Time to analyze each one and see who has the best chance of winning it all. Let’s get into it.
Italy a.k.a The Azzuri
Before the tournament began, I knew that Italy was going to cause some countries some problems. Although they disrespected my boy Moise Kean by not selecting him for the squad, I knew that they were still going to have a massive impact on the tournament. Like really picking FEDERICO BERNADESCHI and RASPADORI over him… any who, I digress. Italy is now on an insane unbeaten run of 32 games, having their last loss come in September 2018 against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. Their redemption story continues after missing out on the 2018 World Cup, their first missed World Cup since 1958. They were placed in the difficult group A alongside, Wales, Switzerland, and Turkey. And they made all those countries look like U15 academy teams, winning all three games without conceding a single goal. They started the first match of the tournament by thrashing disappointing Turkey by a score of 3-0, then doing the same thing to eventual quarter-finalists Switzerland, and closing out their group stage with 1-0 over 2016 semi-finalists Wales. The Azzuri drew the surprising Austrians in the round of 16 and had their work cut out for them, as the game went 120 minutes. Even though they were outplayed in the first half, they fought till the end as both substitutes, Federico Chiesa & Matteo Pessina, netted as they squeaked out a 2-1 victory. Their next match was their toughest test against the #1 ranked country in the world by FIFA, the Belgium Red Devils. The Italians were poised throughout all the madness at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Two early goals by Nicolo Barella & Lorenzo Insigne made a Romelu Lukaku penalty useless in the end, as the Italians won once again by a score of 2-1. However, this specific win came with a big cost, as Leonardo Spinazzola, arguably their best player so far, suffered an achilles injury in the 80th minute immediately sidelining him for at least five to six months. However, even though they lost such a key player in Spinazzola, they still remain positive and keep a united team atmosphere. Just like in any other sport, when one goes down it is always the next man up. This means that both Chelsea left-back Emerson, and possibly former Roma captain Alessandro Florenzi, will have to step up in place of the injured fullback.
When you’ve won 32 straight games, you know that something you’re doing is right. And that means I wouldn’t expect much change going into Roberto Mancini’s starting XI today. I think the only change will be the necessary one of either Emerson or Florenzi coming in for the injured Spinazzola. Now it all comes down to who wants it more and I think the Italians have as much heart as anyone can have. My personal opinion, I think that this won’t be the last time we’ll be seeing this team play at Wembley.
Spain a.k.a La Roja
Luis Enrique’s side was not supposed to be here. After making headlines for not selecting a single Real Madrid player in the 26-man squad and losing their captain Sergio Ramos to injury, not many people outside of España itself predicted La Roja to be in the final four. However through a couple of heart racing performances, the Spaniards have found themselves one win away from the final. They were drawn into Group E alongside Sweden, Slovakia, and Poland. Not a difficult group, but definitely not an easy one to face. And that was shown to be true as Spain drew their first two games at home in Seville against Sweden and Poland. And then all of a sudden, Spain went insane with the goals, scoring a combine 10 goals in their next two matches. They destroyed Slovakia 5-0 for their last group stage game and then edged Croatia in an extra-time thriller by a score of 5-3 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals they faced a surprising Switzerland side which took La Roja to a penalty after a 68th minute goal by Liverpool man Xherdan Shaqiri and a scoreless extra-time period. And even in the penalty shootout itself, the Spaniards got off to a bad start as Sergio Busquets missed the first penalty. However, as found in the other four matches by Spain at the EUROs, the lads were resilient and didn’t let the pressure faze them. The Swiss went on to miss their next three penalties as Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal smashed the last penalty into the bottom right to send Spain to Wembley.
I’m interested to see what players Luis Enrique starts the game against Italy with today. The big question is more on the attacking side of the ball, if Villareal man Gerard Moreno or Juventus striker Alvaro Morata get the start at the no.9 spot. The back four of Jordi Alba, Pau Torres, Ayermic Laporte, and champions league winner César Azpillicueta seem to be the solid backbone of this side. They’ll be coming against a strong Italy side who haven’t lost in 32 games so they’ll have their work cut out for them. As stated previously, it’ll be up to who can execute better and who wants it more.
My Prediction: Italy 2 Spain 1 (ET)
Denmark a.k.a De rød-hvide
The cinderella story of the tournament started out as a nightmare. In the nations capital Copenhagen, their beloved star Christian Eriksen had a super scary moment after he collapsed in the 43rd minute against Finland. It was a miracle by the training staff that Eriksen survived as he went into cardiac arrest on the pitch. The game was suspended by referee Anthony Taylor and was continued hours later. It seemed as if the team couldn’t get their friend off of their minds as they lost the match 1-0, despite having 22 shots and a penalty chance that was missed by Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. Their next match proved to be even more difficult as they couldn’t have the powerful Belgian side, losing 2-1. Their knockout round hopes were in the hands of both themselves and Belgium, as the Danes needed to win and Belgium beat their previous opponents Finland. They put on inspiring performance as they manhandled the 2018 World Cup hosts Russia 4-1 and the Belgians did their job, beating Finland by a score of 2-0. Denmark continued to play with passion as they taught a clinic to Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales by beating them 4-0, and then beating fellow underdog Czech Republic in the quarterfinals 2-1.
Now here we are, De rød-hvide are a team that is living off of their strength and unity through this past month. With stars coming from nowhere like striker Kasper Dolberg and Sampdoria winger Mikkel Damsgaard have given the Danes unexpected boosts. Even with the loss of their best player in Eriksen, they somehow find themselves 90 minutes away from a chance to etch their names into international glory forever. With their well-rounded squad they have a decent chance at beating the final hosts England, who have also had a great tournament. They’ll need special performances from their leader and captain Simon Kjær and from stalwart keeper Kasper Schmeichel.
England a.k.a The Three Lions
This is their chance. The chants of “It’s Coming Home” are echoing through the whole country. Now it is their turn to put the nation on their back and deliver something that they haven’t had since that 1966 World Cup. An international trophy. Gareth Southgate has selected a great team and through all the media ruckus they’ve kept their composure. No matter what the pundits at BBC say, this England side has kept five straight clean sheets at the EURO’s. They’ve landed themselves a semi-finalist spot in consecutive tournaments for the first time in over half a century. The squad is loaded with depth, as just last game Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Jude Bellingham, Ben Chilwell, Marcus Rashford, and Jordan Henderson all started on the bench. The best part about the whole scenario is that both the semi-final and final is at the historic Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions started off their tournament in Group D alongside strong sides in World Cup runner-ups Croatia, eventual quarter-finalists Czech Republic, and neighboring Scotland. Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for England against Croatia with a 1-0 victory but Gareth Southgate’s side were held to a 0-0 draw against Scotland at Wembley. Sterling continued his incredible run by scoring in a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic and then scored alongside striker Harry Kane to defeat the 2014 World Cup champions Germany by a score of 2-0. All the pieces finally came together in the quarterfinals against Ukraine. Away in Rome the Three Lions put on a clinic against former Ballon D’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko’s side, winning 4-0. Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire, and Harry Kane (with 2) all netted to send England back home to Wembley.
After their biggest victory of the tournament, England has the momentum and the home-field advantage. The only problem their facing is their own history. In their last two semi-final appearances they have lost both of them. Euro 1996 was the first one, where current manager Gareth Southgate missed the deciding penalty against Germany and then obviously the 2018 World Cup semifinal against Croatia. I don’t even know what’s going to happen. I mean it seems to be written in the stars for England. Both the semi-final and final at Wembley Stadium, a *favorable* opponent in Denmark, and the strongest team they’ve had in years. For the sake of all the people in England, I truly hope it does come home. Come on England, bring peace to the football world.
My Prediction: England 2 Denmark 0
Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen. My semi-final predictions for Euro 2020* (still don’t know why they kept 2020 in the name) are now complete. These next two games will be incredible, I truly can’t wait to watch them. You already know what it is y’all. Until next time, this is YSN… signing out.
