Former trialist football Usain Bolt has been interviewed by Sean Ingle.
Let me pick my semi-final team for England and then you can send your abuse.
Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Shaw, Rice, Phillips, Foden, Sterling, Kane
These two teams have plenty of history in this fixture. That thrashing in 2012 still stands out for me.
These two have 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 ⏪
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 6, 2021
Euro 2008 quarter-final: Spain 0-0 Italy (4-2 on pens)
Euro 2012 group stage: Spain 1-1 Italy
Euro 2012 final: Spain 4-0 Italy
Euro 2016 round of 16: Italy 2-0 Spain
Euro 2020 semi-final: ❓❓❓#ITAESP | #ITVFootball | #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/Edk4y2Lfxs
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Have a reminder of this cracking column from Karen Carney.
“I attended a World Cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria in Cairo, 2009, covered in the Guardian at the time,” Nick Wilkinson says.
“It was the final group game where only one of these intense rivals could qualify. The group’s standings meant a 1-0 Egyptian victory would not be sufficient while a 3-0 win would see them through. A 2-0 Egyptian victory would see both teams equal in the qualifiers and necessitate a play-off.
“For the 8pm kick off, I was advised to get there around midday to secure a place in the unallocated seating. I got there at midday. It was already over-filled with fans occupying/blocking the stairs between seats.
“As an obviously western face, those around me insisted I be ushered into a favourable seat (top tier, front row, thank you very much). I have never experienced an atmosphere like it. The noise, even in a stadium with a running track, was greater than I’d ever experienced at a game - though my benchmark is the Emirates, so your mileage may vary
A goal after three minutes by Wigan’s Amr Zaki, made the seemingly impossible a distinct possibility. But it wasn’t til deep into injury time that a second goal was scored. It would be no exaggeration to say that grown men were crying with emotional relief and joy.
“I didn’t make it to the play off, subsequently won by Algeria, but that game in Cairo, the menacingly broody atmosphere leading up to it and the last minute equaliser (is there anything better in sport?) all added up to my most cherished game.
“Thanks for the good work so far. Keep going. It’s nearly all over. Then you can go to that over-priced campsite for a rainy August holiday.”
People say “never go back” but here I am for a second stint on the blog.
It’s time for more Will Unwin. Hurray!
Here’s a waltz down memory lane with Italo Cerrulo, via one of the greatest matches ever. “It is June 1982. The Falklands. Lady Di. All that gubbins. It is also World Cup Espana ’82. July 5, to be precise. I am on board a sweltering Italian train heading for my holidays in the South of Italy. I’m a mad 14-year old Italy fan, trying to listen to THE Match on a battered transistor radio with the entire sweaty carriage leaning over me. Italy are playing the ridiculously fabulous Brazilians of Zico, Socrates and Eder. The Italy of Rossi, Antognoni, Conti and Scirea need to win to get to the final. How the hell are we going to do that? I’ll tell you how; Rossi – bang-bang-bang. We win 3-2. The referee’s final whistle mingles with the train driver’s siren as he hoots it with joy as we pull in to Salerno Station. It is bedlam on the streets. Probably as good as gets; football fan-wise. I loved Paolo Rossi. He is no doubt popping hat-tricks in somewhere beautiful as I write.”
Updated
Want to know who has helped Gareth Southgate come up with a plan that appears to be coming together nicely? Well, it wasn’t Sachin Nakrani, but he knows who did: here he reveals all, including the identity of some of the country’s top performance analysts, excluding all those ones who make radio phone-ins what they are.
• Full-back Firpo joins Leeds
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) July 6, 2021
• Brighton sign winger Mwepu
• Guendouzi leaves Arsenal
Catch up with all the latest deals with our interactive men's transfer window guide https://t.co/1GS6iZzUiC pic.twitter.com/c2uK8PZ26u
Sergio Ramos may not be playing for Spain any more but he’s still in the news: he has just completed his move to PSG, who have made some interesting signings this summer and just might be building up for a respectable tilt at next season’s Champions League ... but does this make it more or less likely that they will muster the motivation to win Ligue 1?
Those of us from nations who didn’t make it to the Euros, or who flopped out early, keep ourselves relevant at times like these days by claiming some tenuous association with the teams still in the running. So, for instance, Russians can build up today’s Spain-Italy showdown as the chance for Sergei Karasev to shine as a fourth official; French media can claim Didier Deschamps is, in fact, a managerial genius because it was he who converted Giorgio Chiellini from a left-back to a centreback all those years ago; and, in fact, the French can even sort of claim responsibility for the development of Wembley back in the 1880s, since the chairman of the Metropolitan railway, Edward Watkin, tried to advance his plans for the extension of the train line to serve the area by advocating the construction of a tower bigger than the Eiffel Tower. Those plans didn’t get very far, and football turned out to be a much bigger attraction to the area.
Is there anyone following this as a non-Italy or -Spain-supporting person who is going to the match at Wembley today? Want to tell us of your hopes and plans? Anyone else want to tell us about a time they attended a match in which they had no vested interest and had a wonderful/horrendous time? I recall having great fun at a Ghana v Latvia clash in - wait for it - Milton Keynes many years ago; although that was not as good as one particular West African derby in Griffin Park back in the day.
Here is ColdCut reminiscing about tournaments past: “For the 2002 World Cup, I was in my dingy student house, having just finished my final ever university exam the day before. Stretching out before me was a month of uninterrupted early morning football bliss with precisely zero responsibilities and just enough money to spend it an alcohol induced haze. It is for this reason that, despite it being a dreadful tournament, the 2002 world cup was the greatest sporting event of all time.”
Is Benjamin T suggesting you’re all just making stuff to appear interesting? “Constantly astonished how many people can remember exactly what their dad said to their Uncle Tony just as Gazza missed a chance 25 years ago or that your mum had forgotten to get any jam tarts from the shop and that your younger brother was more upset over this than Southgate’s penalty miss and that you’ve still not forgiven him.”
Speaking of shameless nostalgia, I very much recommend seeking out images from the first competitive meeting between Spain and Italy, which was, of course, at the 1934 World Cup. Their knockout tie was quite the donnybrook, with Italy taking the lead after Spain’s goalkeeper, Ricardo Zamora, had a rib broken. But the visitors gave as a good as they got - or as much as they dared in a tournament hosted by Benito Mussolini - and one of the home team players, Mario Pizziolo, was left with a broken leg: he never played for Italy again and didn’t get to pick up his World Cup winner’s medal until 54 years later. The match ended 1-1 and despite the brutality of the contest - and the fact that it was played during a heatwave - Spain and Italy had to play the replay the very next day, Italy prevailing 1-0 thanks to a goal from Giuseppe Meazza. They’re made of hard stuff, Italian footballers, as Ciro Immobile could tell you.
“I watched the 2018 World Cup semi-final in a Paris cafe with some Japanese colleagues (politely bemused throughout) and found myself next to a lovely Croatian couple,” reveals Tom Hopkins. “It was delightful to have someone to share some shameless nostalgia about Igor Stimac and Aljosa Asanovic with and it all rather took the sting out of defeat.”
Updated
Hello. With any further ado, why don’t you sod off and read this? Just a suggestion.
Thank you very much for your company for the past five hours. Paul Doyle is joyously here to take you through the rest of the day.
“I’d just about dried out from Radiohead at Glastonbury that year when we headed to Rome on a couple of spare tickets that friends couldn’t use (remember when you could do that ?),” explains Dan Hare.
Got into the stadium in neutral area, made great friends with the surrounding Italians who sympathised and understood that the idiots in the Trevi fountain weren’t representative.
However, there was an empty section in the Stadio Olimpico that then got filled up with randoms just before kick off and then all hell broke loose with stuff being chucked in and out of it.
There was some chanting from the rest of the crowd, and one of our recent friends told us that the translation was “F#@& off England”.
We made our excuses and left 10 mins before the end, so missed Wright’s hitting the post.
Next day at the airport we met some American tourists who had been watching the game in a bar and caught in the sweep up and deposited in the middle of a riot at the ground.
“I’m going to sue someone’s goddammed ass off !”
Paul the Octopus
Ben McAleer predicts the future.
“I watched the 1996 semi in several pubs around St Albans, with some mates,” says Dan Catton. “1990 was a bit different: on the way to the South of France for my post-GCSE holiday, my mum and I stopped with some family friends in Versailles. I ‘enjoyed’ the game with my half-French, half-German hosts and their German cousins. It was grim.
“The only real enjoyment came from listening to the French commentators pronounce Waddle, Beardsley and, above all, Gascoigne. He wouldn’t have known they were referring to him!”
Always good to to have variety in your viewing experience.
Kevin Rhodes reminisces: “I lived in Stockholm and during Euro 92, when my countrymen turned up, Swedes kept reassuring me they understood that not all English people are like that!! And the match was rubbish.”
What a lovely day out for you.
The Government have confirmed pubs will be allowed to stay open until 11.15pm on Sunday following the Euros final. What a treat for pub goers.
“For the 1996 I was in the George Canning pub in Brixton with a friend and a guy who said he was Swedish,” emails Michael Magenis. “At the end of the game he came clean that he was (obviously) German. It was a great time despite the result.
“In 1990 I was in a bar in France where monsieur le patron told me he hated the English even more than the Germans.
“And for the 1970 quarter finals I was in Fairfield Hall Croydon watching my first ever gig. Deep purple. Lead singer Ian Gillan told us the score from the stage.
“Tomorrow l will be on my sofa ... getting old does that to you!”
Watching at home is the future.
“I got to watch the semi-final between Denmark and the Netherlands (Denmark through on penalties, van Basten missed his) in my home town of Gothenburg in 1992,” says Thomas Krantz. “Being quite young, my mother wouldn’t let me go alone so my father had to take me. Totally uninterested in football, he spent the whole match (even the penalty kicks) among 50.000 screaming fans at the top of the stand reading his book he brought along. Let’s just say he wouldn’t have cut a wedding short because of football.”
Must have been a good book.
“You have to feel for the boy Spinazzola missing the big game today,” says Sam Boiling. “I’m sure Italy will miss him too - he’s run rings round the opposition so far.”
It is always very sad when someone who has been so important to their team misses the big games.
It is Fiver time! Get your sh1ts, giggles and potential bank fraud here:
Updated
Mine’s a pint.
“The supermarket chain was selling 17 packs of beer a second on Saturday as England fans stocked up for the quarter final match against Ukraine.” That sounds like a lot of beer.
Roberto Carlos has been praising Luke Shaw/Shawberto Carlos today. Now all I can think about is Pele saying Nicky Butt was the best player in the world.
“You can see he’s very motivated,” Carlos told PA. “He’s really improving, his performance against Ukraine was very good.
“He’s been an important part of this English team, along with all the others. He’s been improving each game and I think he’s got everything to get to the top. He’s the left-back for England, that in itself says a lot.”
Elsewhere on the site ...
There’s the Tour de France ...
And probably some county cricket if it’s not raining.
Where did people watch the game in 96? I was eight years old and I remember watching it at home, which is a very dull story but I was definitely permitted to stay up for it all. What a treat!
Updated
Things are getting very exciting in Denmark but Christian Eriksen is still at the forefront of everyone’s minds there.
“What happened showed perfectly how football is more than just a game.”
It is Squires time! Check out our cartoonist’s latest ...
It’s been a funny tournament for Spain.
Holding. Their. Nerve. 😎
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 6, 2021
A reminder of how #ESP reached the #Euro2020 semi-final#ITAESP | #ITVFootball | #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/dRpA69zP0E
PA have kindly written about the most notable games between England and Denmark. This does not sounds like a classic:
Denmark 0 England 0 – June 11, 1992
Denmark were given a route into Euro 92 through the back door after Yugoslavia’s disqualification because of the country’s dissolution and subsequent warfare in the region. Richard Moller Nielsen’s side contained the likes of Peter Schmeichel and Brian Laudrup, and they went on to cause a major shockwave by winning the tournament after stunning favourites Germany in the final. They started their campaign with a drab goalless draw against Graham Taylor’s England, denied a late winner when John Jensen’s strike hit a post at the Malmo Stadion in Sweden.
“Not particularly relevant to tonight’s match,” Kari Tulinius emails, “but Finnish public broadcaster YLE has reported that Leonardo Spinazzola, and indeed Ousmane Dembélé before him, went to the Finnish city of Turku for surgery and rehabilitation. Not that it will make up for missing out on international tournament matches, but if you have to pick a place to spend summer, the western coastal city of Turku is especially lovely this time of year.”
I am not sure anything I offer is particularly relevant to football, let alone tonight.
“While your story is quite bad,” says James Evans. “I think I have a worse one. It was my niece’s wedding. We were going through the usual speeches, father of the bride, groom etc. and we get to the best man. He stands up, and gives a very perfunctory and straight two-minute speech, with barely a joke. We all look at each other, mystified and disappointed. Meals are finished, we stand up and start milling about. We find the best man speaking to a few people, holding several sheets of paper - he had a big (and funny) speech written, but the brutish father of the bride had pressured him in to hurrying up so he could watch the end of the FA Cup Final (Liverpool vs West Ham) - despite being a fan of neither. Still, at least he got to see Gerrard’s screamer, and I’m sure the marriage of his only daughter couldn’t hold a candle to that.”
The father of the bride sounds dreadful.
That lovely chap David Hartrick has written a lovely book. We are very happy to have a little excerpt here to enjoy.
If you were here last week, you may have read that I was going to a wedding on Saturday and would not watch the match against Ukraine. Despite it being a bit of a walkover, two of the groom’s family sat in front of a laptop to watch the entire thing. I reckon they could have turned off after the second went in to enjoy the day.
This is war.
Topher says in the comments: “From what I’ve seen Italy look the best team in the competition. They’re not flawless, but it’s rare to see an international team play with a sophisticated system and perform well in it. Not sure we’ve seen this since peak era Spain. Their pressing is excellent, they rotate positions, make chances - it’s unbalancing for the opposition. They’ve also got a few players with a lot of experience who can shithouse their way through difficult moments.
“England are good in a Deschamps’ France sort of a way, and could end up prevailing should they get past Denmark, but my money would be on Italy for sure. As for tomorrow, I think this is a really, really big one for England - if we lose, we’ll have been dumped out by Iceland, Croatia and Denmark in consecutive competitions which represents a dubious track record - not of failure exactly, but of real missed opportunity. And if we win I think there can be no even lingering doubts about the trajectory of the team, nor its achievements.”
Denmark are in a relatively confident mood.
Alvaro Morata has certainly been hit or miss this summer, but the Italian defence are still very wary of him. Leonardo Bonucci will be tasked with keeping him quiet later on and he knows the Spain striker very well.
“Alvaro is a friend of mine, we often spend a lot of time together in Turin and I was really struck by what happened to him and what we all have to go through,” Bonucci told a pre-match press conference.
“I’ve had to go through what he went through and I know what it’s like to read and feel certain things as well
“I’ve always been right behind him. He’s always had my support. He’s a great guy and a terrific footballer, a complete striker because he can run into space, he holds the ball up well.
“He is one of the best centre-forwards in world football and we need to make sure we are switched on tomorrow, not only to keep an eye on Morata but the team as a whole.”
Roberto Mancini has been speaking.
Jonathan Wilson on tactics.
I still have Italy down as favourites for tonight. They are an exciting team to watch and all that experience at the back makes them hard to break down. Spain have just look far too inconsistent within the tournament as a whole and even within games. Naturally, I will be wrong.
Kieran Trippier has nothing to fear, except fear itself.
“I’m one of those people who likes to go in at the deep end.”
Big Spain news not relating to tonight.
“With everyone focusing on Italy, law of averages suggests they’re due a loss,” Ladka Lal emails to say. “Spain have resembled Man City of last season. Infuriating with their passing to nowhere and capable of the spectacular. Though they don’t have Dias.”
Spain have certainly grown into this competition.
Give your optics a treat with Marcus Christenson on Simon Kjaer.
Luis Enrique thinks the battle against Italy will be won by the team who gets more possession. The teams have a similar style, so it will be an intriguing battle.
“That’s one of the first questions to settle. We are leaders in ball possession but they can also make use of it and enjoy the ball, that’ll be the first battle we need to conquer,” Luis Enrique told a news conference on Monday.
“They can adapt to not having the ball, they’ve done that in the tournament in certain stages but they’re more comfortable with the ball and stronger with it.
“Our objective is clear, we want the ball, we need it, if we have to do something different we will adapt but we prefer to have possession of the ball.”
Who is higher in the power rankings?
Harry Kane still thinks he needs to prove doubters wrong, which is a surprise for a man with such a consistent scoring records down the years.
“I have kind of had to do that my whole career since I was a kid,” he said when asked about proving his doubters wrong. “I’ve had to prove people wrong to get to where I am now. I have full belief in who I am as a player and what I can do on the pitch, what I do to help the team.
“It’s not so much about proving other people wrong. It’s about proving to myself again that I am as good as I can be, I can score at any level, I’ve done it at any stage.
“When you go three or four games without scoring, you want to score and put that to bed and at a major tournament it gets heightened even more but the fact that I have so much self-belief in myself and my team, I don’t really let that stuff affect me.
“Of course when you score in a big game, it is natural the emotions come out and you feel free and a lot of people then say it kick-starts you to score a couple in the quarter-final. Whether I score or don’t score I always feel I am ready for the next opportunity. It’s great that I am scoring now and obviously a big semi-final to come but I’ll be the same player if I scored or didn’t score.”
Sid Lowe with Cesar Azpilicueta.
I have been reading a lot in recent days about how Mario Balotelli might sign for newly-promoted Turkish side Adana Demirspor in the hope of boosting his chances of making the 2022 World Cup. If he does join, he could partner Britt Assombalonga up top, as the striker has just joined on a free.
There is one certainty, Balotelli knows how to score in a Euros semi-final.
📅 Mario Balotelli opens the scoring for Italy against Germany, #OTD in EURO 2012 semi-finals...
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 28, 2021
🇮🇹 What happened next❓@FinallyMario | @azzurri | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/887Me7l4JF
Andreas Christensen has a cunning plan to stop Harry Kane on Wednesday night when Denmark face England at Wembley. The Chelsea centre-back will line up for Denmark against the Tottenham striker, with the Danes hoping they have the inside track on him thanks to club teammate Pierre-Emile Hojberg.
“We know his qualities, and everyone has an idea of what we can do to stop him,” Christensen is quoted as saying at a news conference. “Pierre-Emile also knows him and it may be that he can share some things.
“All players have their habits and we must take advantage of them. He is good with his feet and he is one of the best finishers in football.
“I react a lot on instinct. He is very big, so it is hard to get into his body, but he also has great qualities with his feet, so you should not get too close either.”
We have plenty for you to enjoy ahead of tonight’s game ...
Nicky Bandini on Italy’s plot to down Spain ...
What the stats say ...
And a bit of Mancini on not being happy about the location on the semis and final ...
Here is the excellent Karen Carney on Raheem Sterling being very good at football.
Good morning
After two whole days without any football, we finally have a match. It is not a bad one either as Italy take on Spain in the first semi-final. It is set be a ruddy cracker, that’s for sure. Spain have shown plenty of flaws but also a large amount of quality which has seen them grow into the tournament after a sluggish start.
Italy are still the favourites having despatched Belgium in the quarters and they will take some beating. The match sees Roberto Mancini return to Wembley, leaving him to hope that Ben Watson is not in the Spain team.
There will be plenty of buildup, so it should be a fun day!
