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Clash of the titans EURO 2020 final: England vs. Italy – TSN

Published

3 years ago

July 11, 2021

It all comes down to this. After 50 matches of Euro 2020, only one remains and it’s the biggest of all. At Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Italy looks to win its first Euro since 1968 and will have to do so against an England side that is playing in front of a raucous home crowd in London as they look to win their first major international tournament since the World Cup in 1966.

The Azzurri, still with a 1.000 record, knows that they are entering into the most hostile environment possible on Sunday, but won’t let that deter them from their goal.

“Even though there will be a mostly English crowd, it will give us additional motivation,” defender Leonardo Bonucci said.

Manager Roberto Mancini doesn’t buy the idea that the home crowd will put England under greater pressure.

“Well, we have to put them under pressure,” Mancini said. “But, of course, matches have to be played to the end, and England are a great team; they’re strong physically and technically, they fight. We’ll have to fight until the very end.”

Mancini, who won a Premier League title as manager of Manchester City, says that even though the stakes are immense, his team must savour the moment and try to relax.

“We have to be very focused, but we also have to play with joy because it’s a football match, and you can’t play a football match if you’re tense and stressed,” Mancini said. “We need to go in with the right amount of pressure, but try to have fun because that’s the only way you can win a final.”

Having defeated Austria, Belgium and Spain in the knockout rounds on the way to the final, the Azzurri have already faced some of the best that the Euro has had to offer, but Bonucci says England’s backline presents a difficult challenge. Denmark winger Mikkel Damsgaard’s direct free-kick goal in the semi-final was the first goal conceded by the Three Lions at the tournament.

“England have a super defence, I already said this during the qualifying phase,” Bonucci said. “They have an excellent midfield, and behind them are [Harry] Maguire and [John] Stones, who had great seasons at Manchester United and [Manchester] City. We will need to give great attention as a defence and show a lot of cunning to score in attack.”

With England a completely different task to undertake than the Azzurri’s previous opposition, Mancini believes the ability to adapt to your opponent is the sign of a great team.

“If you make it to the finals of a tournament like this, all your opponents are strong,” Mancini said. “You have to adapt to different situations. You cannot expect to win with total domination. There are games where you may suffer, because a game doesn’t go the way you would like it to, or because others are doing things you don’t expect.”

Much of the knockout round has been about exorcizing demons for Gareth Southgate. Defeating Germany and then winning a semi-final at Wembley erased the bad memories of 1996 when his missed penalty meant England did neither. Now with the Three Lions in their first final in 55 years, Southgate wants to finish the job, but knows the Azzurri are a daunting test.

“Italy have been a top team for the last couple of years,” Southgate said. “We’ve followed their progress closely. We know the way they play. They play with great energy, they play with great style. They are always difficult to score goals against. Without a doubt, they deserve to be in the final – they have beaten two top teams to get there in Belgium and Spain so it’s the biggest possible test we could have.”

The Danes pushed England to the limit with the Three Lions needing extra time to get the victory and Southgate knows what needs to be different on Sunday than Wednesday’s match.

“I didn’t think we kept the ball well enough through Denmark’s pressure from their front three and we’re going to have to do that better on Sunday because Italy are very good at it,” Southgate said. “We need to find better solutions with that.”

Sunday’s match will be the Azzurri’s eighth major tournament final since England reached its only one in 1966. Italy also holds the edge over the Three Lions historically, posting an 11-11-8 record all-time against England. It will also be the third time these two nations have clashed at a Euro with Italy prevailing in the previous two encounters.

Italy and England last did battle at a Euro in the quarterfinals of the 2012 tournament in Kyiv. After 120 minutes of football didn’t produce a goal, the match went to penalties. In the shootout, Gigi Buffon’s save against Ashley Cole and Ashley Young’s errant shot over the bar were the difference, as the Azzurri pulled out a 4-2 win on penalties.

POTENTIAL ITALY XI: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Emerson; Barella, Jorginho, Verratti; Chiesa, Immobile, Insigne

POTENTIAL ENGLAND XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Phillips, Rice, Mount; Saka, Kane, Sterling

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Canadiens winger Patrik Laine expected out 2-3 months with knee sprain

Published

1 hour ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is expected to miss two to three months with a sprained left knee that won’t require surgery.

The Canadiens announced the injury update Tuesday after Laine exited early in Saturday’s 2-1 pre-season loss to Toronto following a knee-on-knee collision with Maple Leafs forward Cédric Paré.

While Laine avoided the worst, the Canadiens announced earlier Tuesday that rookie defenceman David Reinbacher is out five to six months after undergoing surgery on his left knee.

Laine crumpled to the ice moments after Reinbacher — the No. 5 pick at last year’s draft — fell awkwardly from a hit by Toronto’s Marshall Rifai.

Laine joined the Canadiens via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Aug. 19, generating excitement for a fan base deprived of playoff hockey the past three seasons.

Montreal traded defenceman Jordan Harris but also acquired a second-round draft pick in 2026 while taking on Laine’s US$8.7-million salary cap hit for two seasons.

The 26-year-old sharpshooter from Finland scored a career-high 44 goals as a sophomore with the Winnipeg Jets in 2017-18 and was excited for a fresh start in Montreal after a challenging year with the Blue Jackets.

Laine had six goals and three assists in 18 games before he broke his clavicle on Dec. 14. He also sought help from the NHL’s player assistance program in January for his mental health and was cleared in July.

Reinbacher was likely to start the season with the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate.

The 19-year-old from Austria spent the last two seasons with Switzerland’s Kloten HC.

He also registered two goals and three assists in 11 games with Laval late last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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Toronto FC needs two wins and likely help from elsewhere to make MLS playoffs

Published

2 hours ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – With just two regular-season games remaining, Toronto FC sits on the MLS playoff bubble with no room for error. Even two wins may not be enough to return to the post-season for the first time since 2020.

“It’s doable,” said English midfielder Matty Longstaff. “We definitely have a good chance. We’ve just got to concentrate on (Wednesday) and make sure we win.”

Toronto (11-17-4, 37 points) hosts the playoff-bound New York Red Bulls (10-7-14, 44 points) on Wednesday before entertaining league-leading Inter Miami on Saturday (19-4-8, 65 points).

TFC currently sits eighth in the Eastern Conference, which offers a door into the post-season.

The eighth- and ninth-place teams meet in a playoff wild-card game, with the winner moving on to face the first seed — likely Miami — in the best-of-three first round.

Toronto has teams nipping at its heels, however.

Tied on points with Philadelphia and CF Montreal (both 9-12-10), Toronto is ahead in the standings due to more wins (the first tiebreaker). Atlanta and D.C. United are a further three points behind.

All four chasing teams have a game in hand on Toronto.

Coach John Herdman prefers to see the TFC glass half-full while focusing on the controllables.

“Two great opportunities at home,” he said after training Tuesday. “That’s what we’ve been saying to the players. Put (out) everything here. Don’t leak any energy on anything else other than what you (can) influence.”

“Then it’s about the intensity and effort we’re willing to show up with,” he added. “I keep saying the teams we’re playing against, these matches mean more to us than it does them.”

Toronto’s last trip to the post-season was a short one, upset 1-0 by expansion Nashville at the first hurdle.

TFC’s regular-season record since is a dismal 30-73-31. But 11 of those wins have come this season under Herdman, who took over the team last October.

Whatever happens this week, it’s a step forward for a club that went 4-20-10 in finishing last in the East in 2023.

While Toronto can’t be eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday, it will be in a world of trouble if it loses. Even if it then beats Miami, it would have to hope that Philadelphia and Montreal lose two of their three remaining games.

Miami can claim the Supporters’ Shield, which goes to the team with the best regular-season record, by winning at Columbus on Wednesday. Toronto will no doubt be rooting for a mid-week Miami victory in the hope that coach Tata Martino, with first place already secured, might leave Lionel Messi and other stars behind for the trip to Toronto.

TFC will then have to watch the season play out from the sidelines. By luck of the draw, it is the lone side to have a bye Decision Day, the regular-season finale on Oct. 19.

A season that kicked off with great promise — TFC had a 3-1-1 start and did not concede until the fourth game of the season — has turned into a streaky, unpredictable campaign.

Unable to deliver consistently in recent weeks, Toronto has gone 4-4-1 in league play since emerging from a nine-game, seven-week winless run (0-7-2). TFC is winless in its last three league outings (0-2-1), outscored 5-1.

Offence has been a major issue, with Toronto averaging a meagre 1.22 goals a game. TFC ranks 23rd in goals, 25th in shots, 23rd in shots on target and 27th in corner kicks.

With eight goals apiece, Federico Bernardeschi and Prince Owusu are tied for the team lead. Lorenzo Insigne is next with four goals, a poor return for the league’s second-highest salary at US$15.4 million.

Bernardeschi missed a penalty in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Chicago and has not scored in his last 16 games in all competitions dating back to late June. The Italian had 13 goal contributions (eight goals, five assists) in his previous nine league appearances.

Insigne has three goals in his last 18 appearances dating back to mid-June and has been blanked in his last five outings. While he has suffered through a list of health issues — he is questionable Wednesday with a calf injury — the 33-year-old Italian has seemed out of sorts for much of the season.

On Saturday, after coming on in the 88th minute, he inexplicably passed on taking a close-range shot with only the Chicago goalkeeper to beat. Instead, he sent a pass into traffic that snuffed out the threat. Then, in stoppage time with the degree of difficulty ratcheted up, he hammered a spectacular long-distance free kick off the goalpost.

Another chapter in the conundrum that is Insigne. And with the former Napoli star misfiring, opponents have been able to shut down Bernardeschi.

Coming off a 5-1 loss to rival New York City FC, the Red Bulls are winless in six (0-3-3) and have just one win in their last 11 (1-3-7) since a 3-0 victory over Toronto on June 22. Despite the lopsided NYCFC defeat, other results meant the Red Bulls clinched a playoff berth, becoming the first club in league history to make the post-season in 15 straight seasons.

The New Yorkers are unbeaten in their last 10 meetings with Toronto (7-0-3) — not counting a July shootout loss in Leagues Cup play that followed a scoreless draw in regulation.

TFC has failed to score in the last five meetings and has not beaten the Red Bulls since July 2019, a 3-1 decision at BMO Field.

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024

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New-look Grand Slam of Curling series kicks off under new ownership

Published

8 hours ago

October 1, 2024

Anne Joseph

CHARLOTTETOWN – Canada’s Reid Carruthers opened the Grand Slam of Curling season with a 7-5 loss to Sweden’s Niklas Edin at the HearingLife Tour Challenge.

Carruthers, from Winnipeg, was the lone Canadian skip in action during the opening draw at Bell Aliant Centre. He missed an angle-raise in the eighth end for the win and was denied an extra end when a measure confirmed an Edin single.

It’s the first Grand Slam event since The Curling Group purchased the five-event series from Sportsnet last spring.

One noticeable change is the addition of live online streaming on all sheets in the Tier-1 competition. Organizers also plan to boost the in-venue experience this season.

Sportsnet remains the domestic rights holder with televised coverage slated to begin Thursday and continue through Sunday’s finals.

In other early action on a four-draw day, Bruce Mouat topped fellow Scot Cameron Bryce 6-2, Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg dropped an 8-5 decision to Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa and Italy’s Joel Retornaz beat American Korey Dropkin 6-3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

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